The transition to fully driverless cars is still far away, but autonomous cars have already started to change human behavior about transportation. Indeed, tech companies like Google or Apple or the automotive company Tesla have invested in the following years huge amounts of money to develop autonomous cars which are intended to change our life.
Latest news in this field come from Japan. In particular, at the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of October, Nissan revealed its intention to develop a vehicle with a brain that can learn the way of driving of the owner. Moreover, Toyota and Honda are engaged to commercializing driverless cars by about 2020. The strong attention of Japanese carmakers for new technologies comes from the high pressures and difficulties of traditional cars to compete with high technology vehicles.
Focusing our attention on Toyota, it seems to be particularly involved to develop solutions for the new business model. Indeed, it recently hire Gill Pratt, the top robotics expert from the US defense department’s research. Moreover, on Friday Toyota revealed its plan to set up a separate robotics unit in Silicon Valley by hiring 200 employees and investing $1bn. The main goal of Toyota’s investment is the developing of artificial intelligence and robotics. This news represents another signal of the efforts put by competitors both inside and outside the industry to offer customers self-driving cars with a certain urgency. Of course, there are still a lot of problems in terms of safety and accessibility and a lot of questions about the capability of these cars to switch lanes and merge with traffic, but the high amount of money invested by Toyota represents a positive signal of the profitability and benefits of this business.
Furthermore, investors have to consider the positive impact on the society, too. Indeed, some analysts have predicted the new technology could reduce accidents and increase fuel efficiency through the creation of a new market where smart mobility will be integrate in our lives. Therefore, driverless cars seem likely to create new business opportunities that will involve companies and industries beyond the automotive sector, creating a wide range of products and services.
Francesco Manzo
Latest news in this field come from Japan. In particular, at the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of October, Nissan revealed its intention to develop a vehicle with a brain that can learn the way of driving of the owner. Moreover, Toyota and Honda are engaged to commercializing driverless cars by about 2020. The strong attention of Japanese carmakers for new technologies comes from the high pressures and difficulties of traditional cars to compete with high technology vehicles.
Focusing our attention on Toyota, it seems to be particularly involved to develop solutions for the new business model. Indeed, it recently hire Gill Pratt, the top robotics expert from the US defense department’s research. Moreover, on Friday Toyota revealed its plan to set up a separate robotics unit in Silicon Valley by hiring 200 employees and investing $1bn. The main goal of Toyota’s investment is the developing of artificial intelligence and robotics. This news represents another signal of the efforts put by competitors both inside and outside the industry to offer customers self-driving cars with a certain urgency. Of course, there are still a lot of problems in terms of safety and accessibility and a lot of questions about the capability of these cars to switch lanes and merge with traffic, but the high amount of money invested by Toyota represents a positive signal of the profitability and benefits of this business.
Furthermore, investors have to consider the positive impact on the society, too. Indeed, some analysts have predicted the new technology could reduce accidents and increase fuel efficiency through the creation of a new market where smart mobility will be integrate in our lives. Therefore, driverless cars seem likely to create new business opportunities that will involve companies and industries beyond the automotive sector, creating a wide range of products and services.
Francesco Manzo