Experiments conducted by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MITT) at the campus of National University of Singapore, prove that autonomous pick-up and drop-off works, and the technology is economically scaleable.
The idea is that with the Open Network, it can facilitate more of those autonomous pick-ups in more places over time as progress on the technology side among partners makes that possible, with the eventual goal of self-driving scaling to cover the whole network.
The Matternet M2 drones, which are autonomous, can pick up and carry a package of 4.4 pounds across 12 miles of sky on a single battery charge in real world conditions.
Mercedes-Benz and drone startup Matternet unveiled the concept in September, which they refer to as a 'Vision Van.' The idea is that Matternet's autonomous drones pick up packages from the van and then fly them to their destination from the central operating base of the van, which can move around as needed to get the drones within their 12 mile range.
Uber's autonomous vehicles pick up and drop off riders in only nine of Pittsburgh's 90 neighborhoods.
Uber began using autonomous vehicles to pick up fares in Pittsburgh in August.
Not only could it offer you some free coins, but if it deems the cost worthwhile (using Google's automated algorithms, of course), it could just offer you a free taxi ride or send an autonomous car to pick you up.
But it suggests that as big organizations such as Google and Uber labor on fully autonomous vehicles that can pick people up from the pub or ferry roadtrippers across the country, many consumers may get their first tastes of the auto-future from one of these hot-wired shops.
While we are many years away from an autonomous utopia, where cars pick us up and drive us where we need to go without a human at the wheel, we are seeing the first steps toward self-driving cars.
Interestingly, people were a little more interested in a flying autonomous car that would pick them up and take them somewhere rather than having to own, operate and insure their very own flying cars.
