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As you're brushing your teeth in the morning you monitor a digital display mirror that shows all your relevant information for the day: Schedule of appointments, weather and battery levels of all your devices, including your phone and BMW i3 electric car in the garage.
As you walk into your kitchen and turn on your coffee machine, that's the cue your car has been waiting for to turn itself on and begin to warm up. Time to go: With a swipe on your touch-enabled car key, the vehicle detaches from its charging unit, pulls out of the garage and up to your front door. It's already calculated the best route to your first appointment, taking into account traffic and weather.
While driving the car detects other vehicles on the roadway and communicates with them, staying the perfect distance away for safety and efficiency. Each passing car relays its coordinates, which your car analyzes to calculate the threat of a crash potential. On uphill climbs that the car has identified in its three-dimensional topographical navigation system, the car devotes additional electric power to the engine to help conserve gasoline. At the crest of the hill, the battery power turns off so that it's ready to regenerate during braking on the downhill descent.
We've seen this film before, haven't we, where you can drive through special lanes at restaurants to pick up meals you can eat in your car, and cruise effortlessly in and out of comfortable hotel rooms at the end of a day's pleasure driving? There were others, too, about the wonderful promise of atomic power for everyone.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 24 2016, @07:25AM
While driving the car detects other vehicles on the roadway and ...
follows the default programming for BMWs that we all know so well -- it tailgates anyone that is going slightly slower, indicating impatience by frantic flashing of headlights, and horn beeping. After all, spending extra money for a BMW means that the owner also owns the roadway. It is vital that everyone knows that a very important person must, just must, get through.
In recent years, Audi has taken out a license from BMW, and now also uses this portion of the autonomous driving software.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Tuesday May 24 2016, @09:09AM
But how does that interact with the Mercedes' built-in right of way?
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 24 2016, @09:52AM
Cor, I think the Brits would say they "get on frighteningly well". And yes, it will be frightening!