When will Singapore have driverless cars? Read on to find out!
A peek into the future
In as short as 10 years, Singapore’s landscape can expect to see driverless cars according to Singapore National Development Minister, Khaw Boon Wan. As reported by Straits Times, Minister Khaw said: "In time to come, there will be driverless electric cars, in which by then private transport will become less important and therefore, less reliant on road service and land to be set aside for roads and carparks."
10 to 20 years
He added telling reporters after the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum in Bilbao, Spain: "These are the technological changes and ideas which the mayors discussed with great excitement and expectations. It won’t happen next year, it may happen in 10 years’ time, it will most certainly happen within 15 to 20 years."
Is a driverless car fit for you?
Eventually, all driving tasks will be transferred from humans to computers—even a blind man can take the wheel and be driven. But what exactly is a driverless car/vehicle?
Obviously there will still be a human sitting at the wheel in the “driverless car” so it won’t exactly be driverless. Think automated driving—perhaps much further down the line we will be able to take the back seat and be driven. You can compare the technology to auto-piloting on airplanes with radars and sensors to navigate the vehicle safely down highways.
Driverless cars are perfect for the elderly with problematic vision, slow reaction time and even anxiety. With self-driving navigation systems, there is no worry about recognizing a place or getting lost.
WATCH: Blind man drives Google's driverless car
The magic of a driverless car
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Here are some of the benefits of a driverless car:
1) Saving lives - every year, millions of people die worldwide because of reckless driving. With a driverless car these number disappear - as computers have much better reflexes than humans.
2) More time - driving wastes time. Imagine the amount of time you would dave daily if you did not have to drive yourself.
3) Greying population - it can provide mobility for the growing number of older and disabled people.
4) Faster transportation - With wirelessly communicating cars, travel can happen in sync so that traffic jams are eliminated.
5) More efficient usage of energy - We keep a safe distance from the car ahead of us. But with automated cars, they actually travel in tight formations that severely lessons air-drag.
6) Saves money - you won't have to spend money on things like car accident insurance. A research by the University of Southern California indicated that they can improve fuel efficiency by up to 30%
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Google’s driverless cars
Google’s driverless car has actually been tested for over 300,000 miles in California traffic, according to a report on NY Times. It survived merging with traffic into highways, driving through intersections, turning left and right including passing vehicles that were slower.
WATCH: A look inside Google's driverless cars
Are you ready to take on driverless cars? Take our poll below.
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