# The future of flying cars: science fact or science fiction?



## Alexa (May 9, 2017)

Now this is just something I'm looking for and get rid of traffic every day ! And Uber may give it to us by 2020 if we believe in it !



> Science fiction writers and directors have often dispensed with the need to have future vehicles ever drive on the road. Instead, the “cars” are simply small aircraft such as the one Anakin Skywalker used in the Star Wars film Attack of the Clones.
> 
> The recent flying car announcements vary in type from single-seat, multi-copter drone-type aircraft, to road-style cars that turn into light aircraft and small flying boats that hover above the water.
> 
> It would appear that almost any small flying vehicle capable of transporting a person is now referred to as a flying car. But clearly they are really just a kind of small aircraft.



Drone taxi may be just a first step:





`

The future of flying cars: science fact or science fiction?


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## Vertigo (May 9, 2017)

I suspect the biggest problem is going to be control and regulation. Physical roads and essentially two dimensions provided a high degree of control over car movements. Moving into three dimensions and no physical 'road' constraints would be highly dangerous without some sort of rigorous control. Adding ground car levels of traffic to our airways has the potential for some major disasters.

Not saying it won't happen, just that I think we're a still quite a long way technologically from being able to manage it sensibly.


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## Alexa (May 9, 2017)

You mean we may have air traffic police around the corner ? You can always count on them on rainy and holiday days anyway.


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## Vertigo (May 9, 2017)

Not really police. I think it's far more likely that the vehicles will have to be fully automated and controlled by some sort of, again, automated air traffic controller.


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## SilentRoamer (May 9, 2017)

I agree with Vertigo, the problem here is going to be the control mechanism.

These are not really comparable to airplanes for reasons extremely specific to the aviation industry as it currently exists. Primarily they are backed by a huge amount of background operations; flight planning, clearance and control, various international jurisdictions and environmental impacts.

I imagine any such "test" or proficiency like a driving test to be much more difficult to pass, it would most likely involve understanding of aviation law and theory. It would probably be like a pilot "lite" test but even than I think @Vertigo is correct and the only reasonable route would be complete automation. 

Probably the safest route.


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## Alexa (May 9, 2017)

They could put in place some kind of flight corridors. I agree with both of you that some flight planning, clearance and point control are required pre-implementation.

If this is the only way to ger rid of morons on our main roads, I'm ready to pass any air driving test they may put in place.


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## SilentRoamer (May 9, 2017)

Alexa said:


> If this is the only way to ger rid of morons on our main roads, I'm ready to pass any air driving test they may put in place.



We will still end up with uninsured morons causing accidents, people flying unsound vehicles and some form of regulatory parking fine they can slap us all with. 

Weirdly enough through I could see flat roofed housing booms.  Gotta park your gyrocopter somewhere.


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## Ursa major (May 9, 2017)

Vertigo said:


> I suspect the biggest problem is going to be control and regulation.


Not to mention insurance issues. There are, for instance, potentially a lot more third parties when one is not restricted to roads and the properties not immediately next to them.

Does anyone here know what insurance costs are like for, say, owner-operated light aircraft?


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## Vertigo (May 9, 2017)

I can imagine a two tier insurance arrangement whereby there is one insurance rate for a fully automated vehicle and a different, higher one if you choose to pilot manually. Actually I could see this coming in for normal ground cars in the foreseeable future.


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## SilentRoamer (May 10, 2017)

I can imagine insurance claims in the future.

Claimant: Well I did update the Pilot AI with the most recent Service Pack.
Insurance Company: Our records see that Sir, unfortunately you have failed to apply the correct BIOS updates so your insurance package is null and void.
Claimant: Seriously...?
Insurance Company: Yes Sir and I cannot discuss this further as my batteries are running low. Goodbye.


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## mosaix (May 10, 2017)

Running costs, for the average man and woman in the street, will be the big problem. Insurance (as has been said), maintenance and charging costs will probably be prohibitive - not to mention the cost of training and gaining a licence.


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## Alexa (May 10, 2017)

Com'in guys! You are not even excited of the perspective of a flying car. Are we SFF fans or not ? 

Do you have the same issues with a Corvette, too ?


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## mosaix (May 10, 2017)

Alexa said:


> Do you have the same issues with a Corvette, too ?



Can't afford to run one of those either.


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## Serendipity (May 10, 2017)

As amateurs can make an unmanned air vehicle out of chocolate now (not the engines or batteries of course - both of which can be bought off the shelf),  I would expect amateurs to be able to make people carrying airborne vehicles within twenty years. After all they only need to go so far off the ground to be useful.

In my view, they are unlikely to be the traditional science fiction vehicles we all know and love (as in The Fifth Element film), but something more practical and slimline from an engineering point of view. Don't forget 3-D printers are not readily accessible, which would help progress a citizen resourced capability.

The real issue is how the law is going deal with it, and let's hope the UK does not make a similar legal restricting mistake that it did when trams became technically feasible.


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## SilentRoamer (May 10, 2017)

Amateurs aren't able to build cars without any difficulty and the idea that someone can just print the parts and then just assemble them in their garage seems pretty far fetched. 

Building something that small, with the necessary fault tolerances and power is far and beyond the type of additive printing we are talking about - 3d printing is great for simple components made from the same material - how many individual components is a solo aviation vehicle going to require? How many of these can be 3D printed in a single additive material? How is tensile strength and fault indicators going to be tested?

Now I am not saying that someone can't build a flying machine with printed parts and off the shelf components, but what they will not be able to do is build something that passes the required aviation safety and other regulations. Yes people can make chocolate cars - are they road legal and road safe? Would they pass safety tests? No - therefore they're not particularly analogous. I can build a go kart from an old shopping trolley and some rope but that doesn't mean I should be allowed on the road with it. 

I can see the comparisons with a kit car but I think the comparisons end there - I expect there will be a market for "amateurs" but I expect these people will have high levels of engineering and mechanical understanding with a more than average enthusiasm for putting things together.

I also expect that these will probably cost more than printed and assembled and bought off the shelf. 

Just my musings.


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## Montero (May 10, 2017)

On the one hand, yes it is cool.  Maybe the design could be useful for rescue services for areas where you can't fly a full sized helicopter.

BUT
Like others I think it increases the chances of accidents, makes them larger - I've seen several buildings down the years, built at a roadside a century before there were cars, finishing up with a car or a lorry embedded in the lounge. I seem to remember a nasty accident in a city in the last year when a helicopter crashed.  These things could be easily embedded in your roof.

And speaking as someone really concerned about sustainable living on this planet - oh great, another way to burn energy - and it takes more energy to fly a given mass than to roll it on wheels along a road. Sorry to be a misery, but what will get me excited is empty roads because people have finally developed a lot more ways of working locally and not commuting long distances between home and work. Improved teleconferencing, different work cultures.
I've worked in several jobs where I could easily have worked on my computer from home and not travelled an hour each way - in fact when I had an injury I did so for several weeks and it worked fine. The only reason it couldn't be most days of the week - the managers liked to see everyone in the office. So, there you have two sets of buildings - offices and home - each taking energy to build and maintain and then we spend energy building and maintaining roads and travelling between them. Sheesh. (Not all jobs can be teleworked, but, heck it would be a good start.)

Now, maybe we could transition to sending heavy goods by canal, people by these little aircraft and abandon maintaining the roads. But I'd first want to see calculations on the gains in energy and material in not maintaining the long distance roads vs the increased costs of lifting off the ground entirely.


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## Serendipity (May 10, 2017)

I agree the legal / safety situation would need to be sorted for individuals driving close to ground person carrying flyers. 

In the meantime, I can see such a close to ground person carrying flyer (need a shorter name than this) being developed to help transport victims out natural disaster zones (earthquake zones come to mind) where ambulances find it difficult to get close to victims. All it needs is another person to steer the carrier, both in terms of direction and keeping up the height. That way it would avoid the the legal flight regulations having to be applied.


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## Ursa major (May 10, 2017)

Someone who lives three hundred or so metres from me (across the main road and part way along a longish cul-de-sac) has some sort of flying craft in their driveway. It's smaller than a private plane, but larger than a microlight, and isn't complete -- the wings are detachable (they have been detached, and are not to be seen) -- but the small fuselage (only wide enough for one**) is present and kept in a relatively narrow trailer. I assume the owner takes it to an airfield when they want to use it. (The wings may be kept there, but I'm not sure about that.)

I must take a picture of it sometime.


** - If it didn't have fixings for wings, I'd have assumed that it was some sort of autogyro.


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## Alexa (May 11, 2017)

There is a major advantage with a flying car for one person. Traffic is caused by cars occupied by one person. Who needs extra 3-4 places to go to work ? Parents with kids, but only when they are small. Week-ends may be different and maybe still require classic cars for shoppings.

It can also create new jobs, future jobs.

We all have parking places at home and we can use those already available at work. This means we will need special places only if we want to go let's say downtown where the space is usually a problem.


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## Ursa major (May 11, 2017)

Where I live the roads (even the main one I mentioned) are not very wide (particularly not by North American standards) and there's the added problem that there are a lot of oak tree branches extending over them**. The problem for a flying vehicle is, therefore, the complete lack of anywhere from which to take off and on which to land.


** - The main road runs up a hill. From part way down the hill, it looks as if the trees form a tunnel; they don't (the trees on either side don't touch), but it's very picturesque.


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## Alexa (May 11, 2017)

I remember Harry and Ron landing into a tree, by mistake. I hope you don't have this kind of tree around !


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## Montero (May 12, 2017)

Alexa said:


> There is a major advantage with a flying car for one person. Traffic is caused by cars occupied by one person. Who needs extra 3-4 places to go to work ? Parents with kids, but only when they are small. Week-ends may be different and maybe still require classic cars for shoppings.
> 
> It can also create new jobs, future jobs.
> 
> We all have parking places at home and we can use those already available at work. This means we will need special places only if we want to go let's say downtown where the space is usually a problem.



I'm afraid I rather disagree with you Alexa. Traffic jams are caused by too many vehicles on the road - not all of those are one person in a four person car. Depends on where and when you are. I've been on motorways where at least half the traffic, and pretty much all of it in the inside lane were artics and vans.
And a road bound one person car isn't going to be a lot smaller than a four person one as you need four wheels and an engine, so blaming traffic jams on three empty seats in a car - no I don't agree. (Car sharing with 3 other road uses in those 3 other seats, yes, that would reduce cars on roads, but the empty seats themselves are not taking up a lot of roadspace compared to the minimum size of a car.)
There are already covered scooters which are the equivalent of a one person car Covered Scooter, Moped, Motorcycle & Three Wheelers | Scooters & Trikes with Roofs Information which might help in commuter situations - if you had a powered bike lane and maybe one road lane could be turned into two narrower powered scooter lanes.

Also, a lot of people don't have parking - many towns in the UK have only roadside parking at best - particularly where you are talking pre-car roads with terraced houses and there is a heck of a scramble for places and not enough to go round. Trouble with something like this giant drone is that the rotors could be easily damaged so roadside parking in crowded conditions wouldn't be that safe for it. Again, parking at work - erm often no, particularly if you work in an old town centre. At best it is wait for years to be senior enough to merit a place.

As to new jobs - well yes, they'd be new, but not necessarily additional - if people did switch to using the giant drones then they'd probably not want so many cars and jobs would go in car manufacturing. Also, given the current trend for automation, it might not be that many new jobs anyway.


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## Alexa (May 16, 2017)

I'm in Canada so parking space is not such a problem, except maybe downtowns. 

Personnally, I would't like to share my car with others, even if that could reduce traffic. I did it for a while and really didn't like it. I'm very lucky as we have flexible hours, so I prefer to enjoy it and go to work depending on my humour.

Scooters may be good in summer, but not for me. I adore listening music while driving.

In my opinion, flying cars will be our future, no matter how we may think about it. I suppose it was as hard to believe it right now as it was in the past when cars replaced horses.


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## SilentRoamer (May 16, 2017)

Alexa said:


> In my opinion, flying cars will be our future, no matter how we may think about it. I suppose it was as hard to believe it right now as it was in the past when cars replaced horses.



I agree with you that flying cars will become more integrated into daily human life - they will become more and more ubiquitous in personal transport, goods transportation (already becoming a reality with air delivery drones) but also in areas such as search and rescue and disaster area operations. 

However the comparison is apples and oranges and this is why:

Automobiles were a direct replacement of horse and cart, they operated in the same space, carrying out the same tasks, they just did it better and cheaper. They are a like for like technological replacement. The same cannot be said about personal aviation vehicles replacing automobiles because they are not a direct replacement, not as closely analogous as a horse and cart and car comparison.

I do think you are right and they will become more and more prevalent but I just cannot see a decline in the automobile market for a number of reasons:

1. Economic - I think it is always going to be cheaper for a HGV to move goods down the motorway a it is for a delivery drone to carry out the same task. 
2. Vested Interests - Many of the companies involved in the aviation industry also have vested interests in the automobiles industry. It is unlikely companies are going to put their own markets out of range. 
3. Militaristic - There are always going to be requirements for ground based military. 
4. Energy Requirements - See point 1. 

So whilst I do agree with you that they will become increasingly part of our future I don't see an all encompassing transportation market at the expense of the current automobile industry.

But I do want a flying car so I hope I'm wrong.


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## Danny McG (May 20, 2017)

Late last year, can't find the you tube link now, some geeks in California had fastened a chair to three large drones and were seen taking turns flying across a valley.
Head geek explained it was all ran from a smartphone he had developed.
They were setting different GPS destinations around the near countryside and going there at various heights and speeds.
Basically pre-programmed and the drones worked in unison.
It seemed such a simple operation so surely a centralised system could handle multiple tasks like that? Very similar to the flying car.
Plus I really, really, really want a go!


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## Montero (May 20, 2017)

Fun if you really know what you are doing.
Other than that - oh dearie me. Puts me in mind of the Darwin Awards and the guy who flew in a deckchair lifted by helium balloons. Did not end well.


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## Biskit (May 20, 2017)

dannymcg said:


> Basically pre-programmed and the drones worked in unison.


WARNING: The application has encountered an unexpected tree error. Please go to your nearest branch.


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## SilentRoamer (May 20, 2017)

dannymcg said:


> Late last year, can't find the you tube link now, some geeks in California had fastened a chair to three large drones and were seen taking turns flying across a valley.
> Head geek explained it was all ran from a smartphone he had developed.
> They were setting different GPS destinations around the near countryside and going there at various heights and speeds.
> Basically pre-programmed and the drones worked in unison.
> ...



Yeah but a valley is a test environment with flat land and no aerial obstructions, power lines, other traffic. Controlling a single unit is fairly easy, when that has to be integrate with an entire traffic system the difficulty isn't just compounded it is effectively many orders of magnitude more difficult to co-ordinate. Because those drones have a pre-programmed flight route they have 0 calculations to do because there are no variables.

Although with advancements in processing power you never know. It would be nice to see it in my lifetime but I am one of the cynics that belies the next 100 years will be the Golden Age of man.


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## Ursa major (May 20, 2017)

Biskit said:


> Please go to your nearest branch.


Doesn't the application do its own tree searching...?


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## Danny McG (May 20, 2017)

I still wanna have a go. How many chances in my lifetime?
Sometimes you can't wait until technology and infrastructure is ready, you just gotta go for it!
"Hey Nelson, want to try this aircraft carrier?"
"No, I think I'll give it a couple of centuries of developnent so I know it's a safe proven technology"


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## Ursa major (May 20, 2017)

dannymcg said:


> How many chances in my lifetime?


It seems that it may be just the one....


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## Montero (May 20, 2017)

@Ursa - <snort>

And here is the Darwin Award with pictures. 1982 At-Risk Survivor: Lawn Chair Larry

I'd like to try flying in a glider, just the once. I might even, just maybe, try a hang glider..... but other than that give me a chauffeur and a limo  (One with a low ecological footprint..... yeah, right, no such beast )
Thought about hot air balloon ride - but we used to live in an area where there were regular flights - and quite a few came down in the field beyond our garden. I heard the yells and the bumps and could see it dragging....
And being in a basket with a lot of other people - not really a solo flight.

I'm really hoping that the day of automated cars will come in my lifetime. Putting my feet up for a long journey - brilliant.


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## Alexa (May 20, 2017)

My only concern is winter and its eternal snow. An automated car should not care about snowy days, right ?


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## Venusian Broon (May 20, 2017)

Alexa said:


> Com'in guys! You are not even excited of the perspective of a flying car. Are we SFF fans or not ?
> 
> Do you have the same issues with a Corvette, too ?





Actually I personally feel that all these 'future' things, like flying cars for the common people in their commute, jet packs (and silver suited humans having pills for 'dinner' ) etc... are so _retro _and old fashioned! I mean, weren't they were sort of the future aspired during the golden* era of Science fiction, the 1930's?

Personally I'd prefer a personal portal that allows me to just take a few steps to exactly where I wanted to go (Stargate SG1, I'm blaming you for pushing that idea). Fancy a day at the beach. Dial up Bali, step through and have a nice day, then step back directly home. No traffic jams, no commute, just some weird science that sorts it all out for me 

Should still be airfields and recreational flying just for the sake of experiencing it, I've been in a glider and it's a lot of fun.

-----------------------------------------------
* paradoxically quite trashy


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## Alexa (May 20, 2017)

I would not say no to a dial up gate during winter. But I still want my flying car, just for the fun of flying !


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## Montero (May 20, 2017)

Alexa said:


> My only concern is winter and its eternal snow. An automated car should not care about snowy days, right ?



Well, 

1. Warmer bit of UK vs Canada - snowy days??? 

2. A proper automated car should come with a sort of docking port in the garage, that can do some mechanical work on it - inflate the tyres, put on snow chains, change to snow tyres. It will also have a robotic arm that will come out, clean the windows, polish the paintwork, vacuum inside the car..... And there should also be onboard catering. 

Dial up gate - yes please - but the energy costs....... and sometimes it is more about the journey than arriving (nah.....)


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## Alexa (May 20, 2017)

Now that makes a girl dream !


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## Venusian Broon (May 20, 2017)

Montero said:


> Dial up gate - yes please - but the energy costs....... and sometimes it is more about the journey than arriving (nah.....)



Energy costs?! It'll be powered by magic...erm...I mean future science and technology indistinguishable from. And all run on solar energy or a couple of AA batteries


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## Ursa major (May 20, 2017)

Venusian Broon said:


> a couple of AA batteries


So no using a gate while under the influence, then...


...as it may lead to serious charges....


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## Venusian Broon (May 20, 2017)

Ursa major said:


> So no using a gate while under the influence, then...
> 
> 
> ...as it may lead to serious charges....



Are you positive? Current thinking on this is sharply alternating, if I may be direct.


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## Ursa major (May 20, 2017)

Venusian Broon said:


> Are you positive?


It's a copper-topped guarantee...


...so you can take it as read....


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## Montero (May 21, 2017)

And what we also want is an easy way to create underground garages, under every house, so all those without parking or garages on narrow streets has somewhere to put the vehicle of the future....


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## Alexa (May 21, 2017)

Why undergournd ? We should have a special spot on the top of the house !


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## Montero (May 21, 2017)

Following on the thought about automated CARS and existing housing stock.


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## Talos (May 22, 2017)

Speaking as a ex air traffic controller, and Sci Fi enthusiast, flying cars will never be a reality. Some individual ones sure for the rich and famous and powerful, but we already have that now. I predict instead that there will be a automated tube system. Easier to build and regulate with existing buildings without the fear of tons of metal falling from the sky.


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## Alexa (May 22, 2017)

Uber plans to make them reality by 2020. Dubai already has a flying taxi (see my first post for the article)


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## REBerg (May 22, 2017)

Talos said:


> Speaking as a ex air traffic controller, and Sci Fi enthusiast, flying cars will never be a reality. Some individual ones sure for the rich and famous and powerful, but we already have that now. I predict instead that there will be a automated tube system. Easier to build and regulate with existing buildings without the fear of tons of metal falling from the sky.


Futurama-style? 

Futurama transport tubes - Coub - GIFs with sound​


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## Talos (May 22, 2017)

Well, Dubai may very well qualify under Uber Rich. Pun intended...


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## Vladd67 (May 22, 2017)

I read the other day that private cars may no longer exist by 2030, instead you just summon a self driving car as and when you need one. To be honest I just can't see people voluntarily giving up their cars and using a computerised taxi service instead.


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## WaylanderToo (May 22, 2017)

Vladd67 said:


> I read the other day that private cars may no longer exist by 2030, instead you just summon a self driving car as and when you need one. To be honest I just can't see people voluntarily giving up their cars and using a computerised taxi service instead.



a surveillance state's wet dream....


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## Ursa major (May 22, 2017)

Vladd67 said:


> instead you just summon a self driving car as and when you need one.


How often are these cars' interiors cleaned? And if they are self-driving -- and so like a taxi, but with no cabbie -- who is to know if their interiors are in a fit state for the next occupant?

Just imagine wanting to set out, early in the morning, on a longish journey to a business meeting or an interview for a job. Just imagine that the last "fare" had been a group of people leaving a club in the early hours, much the worse for wear. Do you have to request the vehicle early, so that there's time to arrange a replacement (assuming the next one is fit to use)? Or do you grin and bear it and take what arrives?

"So do you always drink alcohol with your breakfast?" asks one of the people in the meeting/interview at your destination (because you left no time to request a replacement car). "Or do you only do it before _important_ meetings?"

Note: The smell of alcohol may be the least of your problems....


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## Alexa (May 22, 2017)

No way that I will give my car away !


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## Montero (May 22, 2017)

And on the flip side of taking your cat to the vet and it wees, as some cats do......and you didn't put enough newspaper in its cage, or it just plain sticks its bum against the bars and lets fly...

I'm all for being able to have an automated traffic system - and I think it should not let you on the road if your insurance and MoT are out of date - but less convinced by communal cars.
My sustainable living side says "yes! communal cars!"
But my general living side says "two hours to arrive, no service in rural areas, other people's rubbish, you making a mess of it yourself, etc" It would also put taxi drivers out of work - and some people like to take a taxi, especially elderly and infirm as you have someone to help you into the car and carry your bags.

And I do wonder how many cars you'd need in a system so that people can all get to where they want on time - so not sure how much of a sustainable saving there would be in terms of numbers of cars if the system was funded to be nearly as convenient as owning your own. (But that is also an argument for teleworking..... again.   )

Mind you, it might be that an automated driving system will have limits - as in book your going to work in your own car slot in good time, because there may be no gaps when you get up in the morning.

Further thought on cleanliness - well there are those one person public toilets that can go through a wash cycle every time the toilet is used. You'd have to build cars not to be nice and cushioned and full of soft fabric, but hard plastic and automated washes. And then you'd have comedy sketches not about taking your car through the car wash, but you getting into the automated car and the wash cycle goes off.....


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## Ursa major (May 22, 2017)

Montero said:


> and the wash cycle goes off.....


So a bit like cycling to work....


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## Vladd67 (May 22, 2017)

Sorry it was private ownership of cars will drop by 80% by 2030, here is an argument against this.
80% of Private Cars Won’t Disappear by 2030


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## Montero (May 22, 2017)

Ursa major said:


> So a bit like cycling to work....


But without all those pesky waterproofs...... and probably a fake floral scent.

Now there's a thought. Traffic management system - how does it cope with push bikes and pedestrians?


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## Ursa major (May 22, 2017)

If it's controlled by Uber, it does what it wants to do with regular taxis...



...drives them off the road....
​


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## Lumens (May 23, 2017)

Some bits fly off my car at times. Little fractions of my dream leaving me behind.


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## psikeyhackr (May 23, 2017)

I was in an accident last week.  Doing 70 mph in a Jeep Grand Cherokee and hit in the rear by a smaller car doing 90.   The Jeep did a 360.

Now you want idiots in the air?

Maybe only computer pilots.  That might be easier to regulate via software.

psik


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## WaylanderToo (May 23, 2017)

psikeyhackr said:


> I was in an accident last week.  Doing 70 mph in a Jeep Grand Cherokee and hit in the rear by a smaller car doing 90.   The Jeep did a 360.
> 
> Now you want idiots in the air?
> 
> ...




exactly this ^^^ we've enough problems driving on one plane. Imagine, if you will, the lunacy of adding a second plane


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## Montero (May 23, 2017)

Ursa major said:


> If it's controlled by Uber, it does what it wants to do with regular taxis...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, I remember joyous days of cycling in London - and the idea that bicycles and taxis should share a lane. Taxis stop suddenly to let passengers out. Even on a steep hill with a bike behind them.....


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## Alexa (May 23, 2017)

I'm really sorry for your accident, psik. I hope you are all right and your Jeep, too.

Driving a flying car will need a special licence, so in my mind those idiots will never pass the exam.


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## Dave (May 23, 2017)

Sorry, I'm late to this conversation so my apologies if someone has already mentioned what I say.



Vertigo said:


> I think it's far more likely that the vehicles will have to be fully automated and controlled by some sort of, again, automated air traffic controller.





Alexa said:


> They could put in place some kind of flight corridors. I agree with both of you that some flight planning, clearance and point control are required pre-implementation.



Google is already testing self-driving cars around London (with a real driver in place should there be an emergency.) One did have a crash, but there is bound to be teething problems. Amazon and Microsoft also want to get in on the act. Self-driving cars are meant to considerably reduce the chances of accidents. Most new cars already have those parking detectors. I can't see a huge leap between self-driving ground cars and self-driving air cars in the software required. I appreciate there is more chance of catastrophic accidents because there is no option to simply break and stand still.



Ursa major said:


> The problem for a flying vehicle is, therefore, the complete lack of anywhere from which to take off and on which to land. The main road runs up a hill. From part way down the hill, it looks as if the trees form a tunnel; they don't (the trees on either side don't touch), but it's very picturesque.



The most dangerous part of any kind of flight (aircraft, ballooning, parachuting) is the take off and the landing. Taking off and landing on a street has particular hazards - not just the street trees, but lamp-posts, telegraph poles, signs and flags, radio masts and all the other street furniture. I think this will be the biggest problem.



Alexa said:


> Driving a flying car will need a special licence, so in my mind those idiots will never pass the exam.


I think that's why they will need to be fully automated and self-driving. There are driving tests now, but it doesn't stop idiots (including kids as young as four) driving miniature motorbikes and quad-bikes in parks, along pavements and cycle-ways. 

The cost has been mentioned. The cost will be reduced by mass-production as is always the case. Cars were once only for the Uber-rich. TVs, washing machines and mobile phones were also once beyond the affordability of someone on the average wage.

The environmental cost has been mentioned. Well, since we are all going to Hell in a hand cart anyway because we are doing nothing about man-made CO² lets all go out with a bang! Wouldn't these be electric though? And in the 1950's they were all going to be atomic powered!

It would be nice to think that computers and the internet are going to allow us all to work from home too - so no need to travel at all, but they fact is that most jobs will be done by robots in any case (if they aren't already.) The jobs that will remain will be in the creative arts, in catering, teaching and caring professions - so cooks and chefs, doctors and nurses, teachers and lecturers, trainers and care assistants - who will all still need to travel to their place of work. Maybe the artists, writers and designers will have the luxury of staying and working from home but few others will.

Also, what about journeys for leisure? And going on vacation?



SilentRoamer said:


> Weirdly enough through I could see flat roofed housing booms. Gotta park your gyrocopter somewhere.



Well, green roofs are going to become more popular, so why not park it on your rooftop lawn?

However, the only way we will build enough houses for our out of control population is to build high-rise blocks. Those mega-cities won't have the option of rooftop parking so I'm not sure that will work. Didn't cartoon family, _The Jetsons,_ fly in through their window?


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## Alexa (May 24, 2017)

Self-driving car ? Not for me. Did you have the occasion to stay in your car in the passanger seat while somebody else is driving it ? It always makes me uncomfortable and cranky. If one day I have to stay behind a robot driving MY car, I may just pull him out and throw him by the window.

I kinda love takes off and landings and this is one of the reasons I'm so interested into a flying car. 

Who says we cannot go on vacation ? I could just take my car and land this afternoon in London, instead going to work. I imagine air companies will do everything to stop this project.

I'm in Québec, so electricity is not a problem.

I would love to work from home. This winter was so bad that our boss allowed us to work from home. She works from home from time to time, so all we need is that the upper management agree with a kind a programme.


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## Danny McG (May 28, 2017)

Alexa said:


> I'm in Québec, so electricity is not a problem.
> .



I think you would need a very long cable :


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## Alexa (May 28, 2017)

What for ?


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## Ursa major (May 28, 2017)

Using an electric motor powered by electricity direct from Québec when the vehicle is in the air.... 

(And batteries are quite heavy.)


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## Alexa (May 28, 2017)

We don't need cables when we have rechargeable traction batteries.


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