Friday Fun: Self-Driving Cars (in 2009)

There’s been a lot of talk in urban circles about how the implementation of self-driving vehicles will impact transportation in the future. Most of that talk is way out of my league, but I do have experience actually riding in a self-driven vehicle. Back in 2009, my wife and I visited Japan, and we checked out their futuristic island outside of Tokyo called Odaiba. It happened to include this exhibit for self-driving cars that visitors could ride in for free. So, we figured, why not? Who knows if we’ll ever do this again?

Apologies for the poor quality. It’s a video of a video, shot 7 years ago. Hopefully, it will still be amusing.

Comments 1

  • Rather quaint considering what the current competitors that are working on autonomous vehicles appear to aiming for. I think there are many challenges that need to be overcome before driverless cars can and will be considered viable. Among them is the issue of liability, and how insurance will need to be reimagined to reflect a hands off approach to control and decision making. Beyond that, there is a huge technological mountain to climb as well. Simply put, what will it take to empty the parking lots at IMS at the conclusion of the 500?

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