New Tech Brings Potential for New Possibilities

The term “self-driving car” and the thought of one probably conjures up thoughts in most peoples’ minds of someone eating, reading, or even sleeping while their car drives them where they want to go. They may think mainly of Tesla and Uber, arguably the two largest companies most heavily in the development and application of autonomous, or self-driving, cars. Like many technologies, this one has roots much earlier than many would think. Unlike many technologies developed over a long stretch of time and only being perfected today, however, vehicular autonomy, or the ability of a vehicle to drive itself without human assistance, did not have the potential to exist at the time it was imagined. While the idea existed, the technology available simply did not allow for its application. This is particularly interesting given the normal course of technological progress wherein an idea develops and a very crude prototype created, and inventors continue to create more advanced prototypes until technology allows for a much more useable application or even perfection. Another thing making the case of autonomous vehicular technology even more interesting is the case of the airplane. Lawrence Sperry, the head of the Sperry Corporation, an aviator, and the son of then-famous inventor Elmer Sperry, invented autopilot for airplanes in 1912. This was not even a decade after the Wright brothers’ famous first successful flight at Kittyhawk, North Carolina in 1903. Read more »

Anyone who’s ever driven into a big city such as New York or Los Angeles for a major event and tried to find parking at the last minute knows how much of a struggle the process can be for a driver.  Street parking fills up incredibly quickly, leaving parking garages and paid lots as the only options.  However, even those garages and lots fill up very often and sometimes charge more for a spot when demand is high.  Cool product in technology SpotHero wants to solve this issue for drivers by helping them pre-book parking spots before ever getting into their cars.  Read more »

Biofuels have been a popular idea for research scientists, automobile manufacturers and consumers for many years. If scientists could develop a viable method for creating fuel out of plants, consumers would no longer be dependent on the limited supply of crude oil in the world.  With manufacturers creating cars that would run on biofuels, consumers have every hope of having energy-efficient vehicles that run on renewable resources within the next two decades. Read more »

There are hundreds of choices when shopping for a new car. You have to decide on type (car, truck, SUV, etc), maker (Ford, Nissan, Honda, etc), price range, size, model, and so many other options. On the other hand, if you are looking into electric cars or hybrid models, there are very few models to choose from among the large car manufacturers. However, smaller car companies are introducing new models of electric cars, for instance: Tesla Motors’ new Model X.

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