by Ed Davies
Are companies unwittingly seeking to deprive us of what is so great about driving or holidays in general by looking for ever more ways to automate our vehicles?
For myself, although long drives are, of course, sometimes a chore there is something unique about setting off on the journey finding the way and possibly occasionally getting lost.
The anger and confusion that this causes is almost part of a ritual that I am sure an automated bot would do away with were the invention to come to fruition.
Therefore, hearing the news that three companies have recently received approval from the local government in Ontario, Canada to start autonomous driving tests, one of them being motorhome manufacturer Erwin Hymer Group, gave me pause for thought.
The director of engineering for the company, Joel Adams, said: “The age of the driver is over. The age of the passenger is beginning.”
GOD NO! For me the only thing worse than driving such long distances is the infernal wait in the back seat not able to read for fear of being sick.
In terms of the the new tech, each vehicle being tested will be connected to the internet and use visual sensors, radar and sonar to scan the surrounding area.
This will enable the vehicle to deal with various types of road conditions, other traffic and people.
They will also be able to communicate with other driverless vehicles and ensure safe distances are maintained from other vehicles.
The three companies who have received approval are the University of Waterloo, BlackBerry QNX and The Erwin Hymer Group, which will be using a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van.
This is the base vehicle for a number of its HymerCar panel van conversions.
