Self Driving Cars
There are a number of companies working toward automating the driving process. Many companies have a different focus on what the results will look like. No matter what the focus of the company however, it appears that self driving cars are a reality. (McFarland, 2016)
Enhances
This new technology enhances vehicles by minimizing the interactions of the driver. A computer will select the best route to the destination. The computer will make navigation decisions based on data and negative factors like fatigue will no longer be an issue on the road.
Obsoletes
This technology makes obsolete the need for drivers. For personal vehicles this sounds like a wonderful concept. However, the transportation industry will be negatively impacted by this advancement. Companies like Uber are already piloting self driving cars to transport people (McFarland, 2016). The next step will be transporting goods and this will have a large workforce ramifications.
Retrieves
Ever since humans have needed to move information, cargo, or themselves from one place to another, they have sought the most efficient ways to accomplish this. For centuries animals were used to perform these tasks. Animals have the ability to remember or be trained allowing man a passive role in the journey. Even to the point that birds were used to deliver information with no human involvement accept on the sending and receiving end (Wikipedia, N.D.).
Reverses
Self driving automobiles are a revolutionary technology that will have a profound impact on how the world operates. A technology that might be poised to replace or improve this technology is flying cars (Mack, 2015). This technology is even farther off with even more regulatory hurdles to jump through before it arrives but just imagine how the world will be changed when it does.
References
Mack, E. (2015, March 16). Finally! A Flying Car Could Go On Sale In 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2015/03/16/finally-a-flying-car-could-go-on-sale-as-soon-as-2017/#66d64ab4219e
McFarland, M. (2016, December 21). 2016: A tipping point for excitement in self-driving cars. Retrieved December 21, 2016, from http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/21/technology/2016-year-of-autonomous-car/
McFarland, M. (2016, August 19). Is Uber’s push for self-driving cars a job killer? Retrieved December 22, 2016, from http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/19/technology/uber-self-driving-cars-jobs/?iid=EL
Wikipedia (N.D.). Mail Delivery By Animal. Retrieved December 22, 2016, from
Emerging & Future Technologies 
Hi Kayle,
The use of the animals which knew the routes and would not need much human interaction has been happening for centuries. Milk wagons pulled by horses were known to have walked their route so often they could do it without the driver, leaving them to take the milk bottles or cans off the wagon and put the empties back on. Early morning in London, the familiar clip-clop of the deliveryman’s van could be heard in the lightening fog. At least that is how Dickens wrote about it.
Auto-pilot in planes lets a plane ‘see’ through the fog where a pilot would not be able to do that. This is something that is useful in many different things besides cars or trucks.
Cheers,
Anita B.
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Hi Kayle,
I’m glad you brought up flying cars. I was going to talk about them, however, I choose not to go that far into the future in my tetrad. I do think that we will have flying cars one day and they will make travel so much easier and quicker without the hassel of busy roadways.
Donna
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