Sebastian Thrun, a professor of computer science at Stanford, and Anthony Levandowski, a product manager at Google, submitted an op-ed column to the New York Times on four ideas that they think may save Detroit.
Their ideas center around making cars - and driving habits - more efficient. The authors note that these are projects they are working on, so take them with a grain of salt.
1. Use dedicated short-range communication, or Wifi, to enable cars to communicate with traffic lights and other roadway infrastructure. This would allow for more efficient acceleration, braking and improved traffic flow.
2. Solar-electric hybrids. The only problem I see with this is that most cars spend a lot of time parked in the shade or in a garage.
3. Robotic cars that drive in tight formation. This would help decrease drag and would free up drivers for tasks like e-mail. And maybe safely talking on your cell phone while driving? Or shaving.
4. Cars that go online. Sensors at parking meters would tell you where the open spots are. Make dinner reservations. Order takeout. I don't know, there's so much you can do with a smart phone these days. Why bother putting technology in cars that will be obsolete in a matter of a few years?
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