Photo: BMW
The automotive market is transforming right before us, and these changes are mostly generated by four big trends: electrification, interconnectivity, ride-sharing, and autonomous driving.
All these four are somewhat intertwined - either one would benefit the others, or it would make it almost impossible for them to exist. They go hand in hand, which would explain why so many companies are dug in deep on all four fronts.
The development of the self-driving technology appears to be the most complex of the bunch, and what we've seen so far only comes to confirm that. A cavalcade of car, technology, and software companies are currently involved one way or another, with some of the biggest names in each of these industries holding the front pages.
What's the end game? Sure, self-driving cars would make the roads a safer place, but it can't be just that. And it's not. It's actually a fight for survival of the most primordial kind. Any carmaker that won't have self-driving-capable vehicles once the lawmakers finally come to an agreement and give the technology the green light would instantly be vaporized.
At least that's what Intel believes based on the Strategy Analytics study published just the other week. The paper also predicts that "autonomous technology will enable a Passenger Economy worth $7 trillion in 2050." That represents the indirect savings for consumers and business users alike, deriving from the free time obtained by not having to drive anymore as well as increased productivity and cost savings.
Self-driving tech will have a big influence on a range of industries, with the automotive one being just one of them. Public transport will also suffer a massive hit as personal cars become more efficient commuters, and more comfortable as well.
Intel's view of the future sees an increase in overall traffic, but a decrease in the consumers' commuting time - 250 million hours a year, to be exact. This is time that could be filled by a bombardment of information and entertainment, with the mandatory chunks of advertising mixed in.
Nobody really knows the impact autonomous cars will have, but everybody seems to agree it's going to be great. It will likely be a generation or two before people would be willing to give up on driving completely, but considering how absorbed we are by our smartphones already, it's hard to imagine we'd give up on the opportunity of spending even more time with our beloved device.
The development of the self-driving technology appears to be the most complex of the bunch, and what we've seen so far only comes to confirm that. A cavalcade of car, technology, and software companies are currently involved one way or another, with some of the biggest names in each of these industries holding the front pages.
What's the end game? Sure, self-driving cars would make the roads a safer place, but it can't be just that. And it's not. It's actually a fight for survival of the most primordial kind. Any carmaker that won't have self-driving-capable vehicles once the lawmakers finally come to an agreement and give the technology the green light would instantly be vaporized.
At least that's what Intel believes based on the Strategy Analytics study published just the other week. The paper also predicts that "autonomous technology will enable a Passenger Economy worth $7 trillion in 2050." That represents the indirect savings for consumers and business users alike, deriving from the free time obtained by not having to drive anymore as well as increased productivity and cost savings.
Self-driving tech will have a big influence on a range of industries, with the automotive one being just one of them. Public transport will also suffer a massive hit as personal cars become more efficient commuters, and more comfortable as well.
Intel's view of the future sees an increase in overall traffic, but a decrease in the consumers' commuting time - 250 million hours a year, to be exact. This is time that could be filled by a bombardment of information and entertainment, with the mandatory chunks of advertising mixed in.
Nobody really knows the impact autonomous cars will have, but everybody seems to agree it's going to be great. It will likely be a generation or two before people would be willing to give up on driving completely, but considering how absorbed we are by our smartphones already, it's hard to imagine we'd give up on the opportunity of spending even more time with our beloved device.
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