As a child I often found myself thinking up inventions I would love to have had the resources to create. One of those ideas was to make a car that could drive without any human interaction needed. While this idea seemed far off back then it now seems closer than ever with Google testing this concept just last year. The project was just one in a line of concepts that Google has been working on. Most recently, Google and Ford have joined forces to develop cars smart enough to know where you’re going and how best to get you there. The concept sounds interesting as it will utilize the power of Google’s remarkable Prediction API to create cars that determine where you’re going by examining where you have been. The Prediction API adds pattern-matching capability to existing cloud-based datasheets, using it to predict probable outcomes for current events. Basically the concept would allow for our behaviors to be learned thus enabling us to have more effective routing, fuel efficiency, and the like.
While this is all far beyond what I dreamt of as a child I am excited by all the possibilities this could open for the M2M and automotive world as a whole. It may still be quite a few years off and still highly theoretical, but don’t be surprised if some day you’re driving down a highway and come across a vehicle that is completely driving itself while its passenger takes a nap on their long trip. Seem too good to be true? Only time will tell.
See the news release at http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/05/ford-google-prediction-api/
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