Memo #13

Self Driving Cars

Ray Kurzweil predicted that by the 2020s, driving on the highways will be banned and the
establishment of self-driving cars will start. But will these predictions turn into reality?

Mercedes has already began the journey of self-driving cars by inventing the luxurious vehicle,
F015. It was announced at CES 2015 by the CEO of Mercedes, Dietrich Zetsche. This vehicle
also has the ability to display a crosswalk so pedestrians know when they can cross the street.

Another self driving car was announced at CES 2014 by Audi called the A7, but during the
presentation the system failed and the driver had to take over, but it was brought back a year
later in CES 2015. The Audi A7 also has a stop mechanism where if the car senses something
that it will come to a complete stop. This new invention also has a auto parking feature which
is handy in tight parking lots. Letting self driving cars drive in your place could prevent many
car accidents but technology can always backfire and this goal that Ray Kurzweil predicted may
never come into fruition. Will Ray Kurzweil's predictions come to life? If it does, it could affect
many people such as the the elderly, the handicapped, and many others. It might also affect the
joy of driving that many people get but this rule will be able to enforce safety in a sense.

The vast majority of cars on the road at the moment have no automation features or only very
limited automation, like cruise control. You can find a few self-driving cars being tested on
public roads as of now, but you won't likely find many in a dealer showroom for at least 10 years.
As of now in 2018, many more self driving cars have been released from even more
manufacturers yet they still are rare to see on the streets.