Every day we hear news of a different manufacturer topping the last on their quest to the autonomous age. When that age comes, what will cars actually be like? Movies of the past that were based around our current time had flying cars and traffic lights in the sky, obviously we aren’t there (yet), but how will the world change with the transportation that keeps it turning?

A study of 2,000 people by Continental Tyres shows that over 60% of people believe that there will be fewer accidents on the road if we improve the actions of other road users. This goes someway to saying that autonomous cars/vehicles may well be the answer to safer roads, if the technology is perfected. Some people find it hard to trust the autonomous car, not having control of your own journey, or no human having control of your journey seems daunting, but like it many studies that businesses conduct, removing human errors can improve thousands of processes.

Considering this though, you have to think of the industry itself, would manufacturers allow this to happen considering the money they make on releasing new models and attracting people to buy the latest car. There are more than 34.4m cars on British roads, with a new record of 2.69m sold in 2016 in an industry worth £77.5bn a year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

This being said, if the worlds vehicle were to become fully self-driven, would there be any need to buy a car? Could it transform into becoming more like a public service rather than something you purchase and keep in your garage? Like a bus you could rent or pay a fair in an Uber like service and be driven to your destination. It’s not unfathomable to see this.

Another change that could come in the future, perhaps again not buy 2040 though, is the space when considering the interior of our cars. If the risks are dramatically reduce to somewhere near zero, is there possibility that the interior of our cars needs to be the layout that it currently is. Vehicles could become more like pods, an office space, a lounging areas, the need for the current layout that time and effort is spent considering safety may be scrapped.

Taken from an engadget article:

“Earlier this year, Daimler announced plans to develop a self-driving, car-sharing system with fully autonomous vehicles geared towards city living. Today, the company says that the first part of that vision — Smart’s Vision EQ Fortwo concept vehicle — will be presented at the 2017 Frankfurt International Motor Show next month.

The EQ Fortwo is a level five, fully autonomous car with no steering wheel or pedals. Via an app, riders can hail the car and have it pick them up from wherever they like. The outside of the car has a panel in the front that can display information like who it’s picking up, that it’s on its way to a pickup or information for pedestrians crossing in front of it. The side doors, which open upwards over the rear axle, can also display information like weather or news updates.”

What do you think the future holds? Would you trust a fully autonomous car?