No more steering wheels?

[karlhenk]

 

Ford supplier thinks this could one day be reality:

 

---

 

The steering wheel could one day become history as self-driving vehicles progress, at least according to one executive at a global automotive supplier.

 

Han Hendriks, vice president of advanced product development for Johnson Controls’ automotive electronics and interiors business, said futuristic designs of self-driving vehicles include extra space because there is no need for a steering wheel or column. And that’s because the self-driving vehicle would receive almost no input from the driver.

 

That idea, however, is still decades from becoming reality.

 

“After 2025, the steering wheel will play a less dominant role in the interior,” Hendriks said from the company’s Plymouth campus on Tuesday. “With fully autonomous vehicles, you don’t have to be forward looking as a driver, you don’t need to have an instrument panel. Then you can really just think of a car as a box that you enter.”

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131016/AUTO01/310150124#ixzz2htt9xnIc

 

[NickF1011]

Decades. At the very earliest. I don't think we'll ever see some kind of manual steering input disappear entirely. There are just too many situations where a driver might have to end up controlling the vehicle his/herself.

[coupe3w]

I hope I'm dead before this happens.

[blazerdude20]

I think a more realistic future will be one where a "wheel" still exists but is retractable / storable. If you need to go down a road where you need steering control you pull it out of the drivers side storage compartment.

[wildosvt]

why in theeeee fk is this news?

[EBFlex]

I hope I'm dead before this happens.

 

If you're not, watch out. These self parking and self driving cars will be killing people left and right.

[NickF1011]

 

If you're not, watch out. These self parking and self driving cars will be killing people left and right.

 

Just like those self flying airplanes I alluded to earlier?

[V8-X]

Wait, wasn't it the late 80's or 90's sometime the media reports that steering wheels would be replaced by joysticks, due to the increase in gamers? Now no steering wheel at all?

 

So we're going to a "Demolition Man" or "I Robot" type future. What happened to the reports and the "Back to the Future II" or "Total Recall" (remake) flying cars?

[NickF1011]

Wait, wasn't it the late 80's or 90's sometime the media reports that steering wheels would be replaced by joysticks, due to the increase in gamers? Now no steering wheel at all?

 

So we're going to a "Demolition Man" or "I Robot" type future. What happened to the reports and the "Back to the Future II" or "Total Recall" (remake) flying cars?

 

I think futurists are slowly starting to get it that a lot of times change doesn't happen fast. They look back at all of those "by the year 2000" predictions that were going on in the 50s, 60's, and 70's and realized that our rate of scientific advancement in some arenas isn't nearly as fast as we give ourselves credit for.

 

Of course, there are other areas where futurists have been way too conservative, like with miniaturization of electronics.

[V8-X]

 

I think futurists are slowly starting to get it that a lot of times change doesn't happen fast. They look back at all of those "by the year 2000" predictions that were going on in the 50s, 60's, and 70's and realized that our rate of scientific advancement in some arenas isn't nearly as fast as we give ourselves credit for.

 

Of course, there are other areas where futurists have been way too conservative, like with miniaturization of electronics.

What? You mean the 60's movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the 80's "2010" sequel is a sham and we haven't reach Jupiter yet? Damnit!

 

Well as for the miniaturization of electronics, what the hell happened to cell phones? They got so tiny in the mid-00's, and now you have phones like the Samsung Note that's like a dang star destroyer compared to the old micro phones.

Edited October 18, 2013 by V8-X

[NickF1011]

What? You mean the 60's movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the 80's "2010" sequel is a sham and we haven't reach Jupiter yet? Damnit!

 

Well as for the miniaturization of electronics, what the hell happened to cell phones? They got so tiny in the mid-00's, and now you have phones like the Samsung Note that's like a dang star destroyer compared to the old micro phones.

 

Well, the thing with cell phones is that they aren't really cell phones anymore. When you look at them for what they are (computers that can also make a phone call) they are still getting smaller. There's a limit to miniaturization for certain devices if you still want them to be useful.

 

[akirby]

It's not a technical limitation. The size is driven by the screen size which has to be large enough to see the apps. If you only wanted a simple cell phone with no apps it would be very tiny.

[V8-X]

 

Well, the thing with cell phones is that they aren't really cell phones anymore. When you look at them for what they are (computers that can also make a phone call) they are still getting smaller. There's a limit to miniaturization for certain devices if you still want them to be useful.

 

 

It's not a technical limitation. The size is driven by the screen size which has to be large enough to see the apps. If you only wanted a simple cell phone with no apps it would be very tiny.

I know fellas, I'm just having fun with the topic at hand.

 

As for these smartphones, it kind of makes me hope for those self driving vehicles without steering wheels, seeing how many people can't concentrate on driving. Then again, I hate such technology, because I enjoy driving (except when surrounded by these drivings concentrated more on their phone than the road). So double edged sword.

Edited October 18, 2013 by V8-X

[NickF1011]

 

I know fellas, I'm just having fun with the topic at hand.

 

As for these smartphones, it kind of makes me hope for those self driving vehicles without steering wheels, seeing how many people can't concentrate on driving. Then again, I hate such technology, because I enjoy driving (except when surrounded by these drivings concentrated more on their phone than the road). So double edged sword.

 

I wouldn't be too worried about seeing self-driving cars (at least those that don't have an option for manual steering) inside of our lifetimes.

[Mark B. Morrow]

Wait, wasn't it the late 80's or 90's sometime the media reports that steering wheels would be replaced by joysticks, due to the increase in gamers? Now no steering wheel at all?

 

So we're going to a "Demolition Man" or "I Robot" type future. What happened to the reports and the "Back to the Future II" or "Total Recall" (remake) flying cars?

The best car in Demolition Man was the '70 Olds 442.

[SoonerLS]

I think futurists are slowly starting to get it that a lot of times change doesn't happen fast. They look back at all of those "by the year 2000" predictions that were going on in the 50s, 60's, and 70's and realized that our rate of scientific advancement in some arenas isn't nearly as fast as we give ourselves credit for.

The scientific and engineering progress is there--it's the non-technical factors (the human element, economics, politics, etc) they seem to have trouble understanding.

 

I remember seeing "in 2000" films back in the '70s and some of the idiotic predictions they had, particularly when it came to "advances" in sports, like augmented suits and jet packs for football players. It was obvious that the people "futurising" had no understanding of sports or why people participate in them, particularly those who do so at elite levels...