Baby, you can boot up my car

Nothing gets people thinking about the past or future better than a bland, even foreboding present. Possible economic recession? Yuck. Uncertainty in the presidential election? Nothing but ulcers for political junkies like me. And since the past involves “quantified research,” it’s so much easier to just envision the future.

That’s what folks did last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Maybe you saw some of the coverage on the news. I saw one reporter asking about a robot ice bucket that delivered beer using technology very similar to the “Roomba” vacuum cleaner. Anyway, the future includes much more than “smart beer.” The item that caught my eye was the Chief Executive of GM, Rick Wagoner, telling the convention audience that we are only 10 years away from a driverless car, if there proves to be demand.

~ An excerpt from my Hibbing Daily Tribune column for Jan. 13, 2008. Read the full column at http://www.minnesotabrown.com/, in the Sunday paper or archived here.

Comments

  1. I don’t know that I’m ready for a vrrooooom-ba. What happens when a deer jumps in front of you? How about a flat tire? Or an icy patch of road? For people who live in large urban areas, where commuter traffic is a hassle, and everyone is going pretty much the same direction (freeway traffic jam, in other words) something like this might work. On the other hand, so does the commuter train.

    I’m reminded of the 1950’s fantasies that cars would have jet engines. We can dream, sure. And perhaps this could happen. But I don’t see it as being particularly useful to me, especially if it costs lots of money.

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