Tag Archives: Self-Driving Vehicle

10 Incredible Futuristic Cars Designs

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Like other things, cars have evolved with time, thanks to manufacturers who always keep an eye on cutting edge technologies for transport vehicles. A typical four-wheeled car’s main purpose is to transport, but we have moved farther from that.

As we move towards the future, car makers are also preparing more advanced cars to enable comfort for people and, well, for car geeks, it’s more than that, of course. We’re already talking about electric vehicles and self-driving vehicles here. We’ll give you a preview of some of them here:

Toyota FCV Plus self-driving car

Image via: Autoblog

Toyota proves that they’re a company that’s way more than the typical sedans. In 2015, the car maker has unveiled a futuristic and spaceship-looking car called FCV Plus. This concept car is from Toyota is more than just style; it runs on hydrogen fuel, which means, it’s eco-friendly too. FCV Plus is one of those potential cars for the future, but as the car maker continues to work on perfecting the vehicle, we can just wait for now.

Mercedes Benz’ F 015 Luxury in Motion self-driving car

Image via: Entrepreneur.com

Mercedez Benz is also not allowing itself to get left behind and is also working on its own self-driving car. As a matter of fact, on top of wowing the audience at the Consumer Electronics Show, the some lucky pedestrians in San Francisco were also lucky to spot the amusing capsule-looking vehicle on the streets as Benz began to test drive it beginning some two years ago. Aiming for class and luxury, Benz envisions a lounge looking four seater design for its interior.

GAC WitStar Concept autonomous vehicle in China

Image via: cleantechnica

China, which seems to have answers in every commodity, has this WitStar concept that looks somehow similar with the Benz self-driving concept. The difference is, this vehicle has a gull wing door and an option to drive of to autopilot. I bet this would be much cheaper than the Benz as well.

Tata ConnectNext electric car

Image via: Ibtimes

 

Even Indian car maker Tata is in the loop with futuristic cars. As early as 2014, it has already made a prototype of its expected modern vehicle. This five-seater electric car boasts design and functionality: it has floating seats and highly-technological features, such as the steering wheel active indicators, augmented navigation and infotainment.

Tesla’s Model 3 electric self-driving car

Image via: Business Insider

An autonomous vehicles list will not be complete without Tesla, of course. it’s not only an autonomous vehicle, it’s also eco-friendly as it would run on electricity and can travel at least 215 miles on a single charge.  It’s rumored to begin production this year, so start pre-ordering for this modern vehicle because it already has more than 400,000 pre-orders to date!

LeEco’s LeSEE self-driving car in China

Image via: lesee

Meanwhile, China’s LeEco has also made its own self-driving car concept in an attempt to compete with Tesla. But what sets it differently from Tesla, is its goal to change the taxi industry in China, compared to Tesla, which is generally marketing for the general public.

Electric RoboBuses in Finland

Image via: inhabitat

Self-driving technology is not only focused in sedans. Just like this cute-looking self-driving bus which is set to roam around the streets of Finland this year!

Harry, the driverless pod in Greenwich, England

Image via: The Guardian

U.K. does not want to get left behind and created their own driverless pod, 100 of which is set to roam in the city, is set to launch in July.

Lutz Pathfinder self-driving car in the UK

Image via: Redbull

Meanwhile, this vehicle doesn’t look like an actual car, but it is. The makers of Lutz Pathfinder is already testing the vehicle out in the streets to understand how it will react to the city environment such as pedestrians. Indeed, the company seems to be preparing for a safer and smarter community. Cheers!

General Motor’s Electronic Networked-Vehicle

Image via: NY Daily News

Similar to Lutz Pathfinder is this cutesy concept self-driving vehicle from General Motors. Apart from typical technologies like GPS, it also has the capability to “communicate” to other similar vehicles as means to maneuver the traffic.

Self-Driving Shuttles to Hit Dutch Public Roads This Summer

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WEpod Driverless Shuttle 05

The WEpod driverless vehicles were put to the test yesterday, and will gradually make their way to public roads this summer.

Schultz van Haegen, the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure, launched the test phase of WEpod driverless vehicles on the campus of Wageningen University, and announced that if this phase turns out to be a success, a route expansion is in place along the Food Innovation Strip, to the Ede-Wageningen intercity railway station. Gelderland became this way the first region to see self-driving vehicles on public roads.

During this test phase, not only the technology that keeps this vehicle moving will be put under a microscope, but also such aspects as certification, insurance, liability, human behaviour, legislation, and road management and design. To bring all of these together, educational institutions will collaborate with companies and authorities in several different areas.

WEpods are definitely not the first driverless shuttles around, since there have been initiatives all around the world, with results such as the Rotterdam Rivium Park shuttle, the Heathrow shuttles and the Masdar City pods in Abu Dhabi. However, the Dutch shuttles will be the first ones to drive on public roads, in normal traffic.

The shuttles measure 275 cm in height, 199 cm in width, 393 cm in length, and provide room for up to 6 people in their cabins. Doors are operated automatically and there’s also a platform lift for wheelchairs. Don’t expect the WEpods to be lightning fast, as they can only get to 40 km/h (25 km/h in the test phase). If it wasn’t already obvious, these are electric vehicles, as creating a driverless shuttle that uses conventional fuels wouldn’t have only been an incredible disaster, but it also would have defeated the entire purpose of the WEpods.

“People will always want to travel. It is only the way in which they travel that will change,” explained Conny Bieze, a member of the Provincial Executive. “This is certain. With this pilot, we can help shape the future. This initiative will contribute to the emergence of new forms of public transport. This innovative approach is seamlessly in line with the ambitions of the innovative Food Valley Region.”

“With the WEpod, we are entering a completely new stage of the voyage of discovery that the Netherlands embarked on with the aim of making transport more flexible, safer and cleaner,” concluded Minister Schultz. “With this project we are taking new steps towards making self-driving transport a reality in practice. It is only through practical testing that we can acquire new knowledge, not just technical knowledge, but also knowledge regarding safety, liability and privacy. Moreover, this initiative opens up new economic opportunities for our automotive sector.”

Things really seem to be moving in the right direction as far as transport is concerned, at least in some parts of Europe. Also this week, Germany opened the first 3 miles of a 60-mile bicycle highway, which truly sounds mind-blowing, considering that other European countries aren’t able to build a normal driveway that long.

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