Is The Age of the Robot Car Upon Us?

Brad Templeton, chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, hopes that robot-driven cars will become commonplace on our roads in the next decade or two.

1 minute read

February 3, 2009, 1:00 PM PST

By Tim Halbur


Templeton classifies these cars of the future into two types: "Whistle Cars – Self-driving cars that can ferry themselves to drivers in need of a car at low, safe speeds. Smaller cars will be more viable, as customers will be able to order up a car that fits their needs for that day, rather than bigger vehicles that may be needed across its entire lifecycle. After a whistlecar putters autonomously to its destination, the person renting the car takes over and drives it at standard highway speeds. Robocars – Completely autonomous cars that take no user interaction to reach their destination. These must be extremely safe before public perception will shift to allow them on the road."

Tuesday, February 3, 2009 in Boing Boing

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