Driverless Cars

I often pondered about ways to smooth out traffic patterns on our highways. It seemed to me that the greatest problem was people not moving at the same, consistent pace.

Courtesy Google Images

You know what I’m talking about; it’s rush hour and traffic backs up because there’s all these ramps spewing cars that are trying to merge onto the thoroughfare. Drivers have to slow down to allow cars in; or they make lane changes to avoid the incoming vehicles; everyone’s tapping their brakes, which creates a ripple effect that cascades back through traffic, sometimes for miles (ever been on the Mass Pike on Easter Sunday?). I don’t even want to talk about the effects of an accident; a fender bender during a busy time creates chaos!

I wondered if there could be a system that would take over a car’s driving functions as that car entered a limited access roadway. In my fantasy system, once a driver entered an onramp, a master computer took control, merged traffic and moderated speed.

We already have cars that can park themselves (2012 Ford Focus). Chrysler minivans have a feature that warns the driver if another car is in its blind spot.

Google has taken it to the next level. They have developed a car that is driverless. The Washington Post reports the car, based on a Toyota Prius, has driven over 250,000 accident free miles and has been licensed for use in Nevada. CNN Money reporter, Peter Valdes-Dapena , details a ride through a predetermined route in Washington, DC. Valdes-Dapena writes that the Google car handled unexpected occurrences, such as avoiding a collision, on its own. Currently, a pair of engineers is required to sit in the front seat to monitor the vehicle’s operation, but their input is limited to operating the turn signals.

Not to be outdone, according to The Telegraph, General Motors has announced that self-driving cars will be available within a decade.

I am fine with the prospect of being able to just sit back and let the car do all the work. What do you think; are you ready to give up your control behind the wheel?



Asteroid Mining

In 1848, at Sutter’s Creek, California, gold dust was discovered and the rush for gold was on. Within a year, 100,000 people migrated to California with the hope of striking it rich. In 1896, Rabbit Creek, in the Klondike Valley of the Yukon Territories was the scene of another golden discovery. According to The Last Best West, a prospector found a gold nugget and the ensuing Klondike Gold Rush drew 100,000 pilgrims to the gold fields of Canada.

Courtesy Google Images

In May, 2003, the Japanese launched a meteor probe named Hayabusa. It collected granules of meteoroid dust from the asteroid Itokawa and returned to earth with its space dust in June, 2010.

I think this mission was important for a couple of reasons. It gave scientists a glimpse of the composition of an asteroid and it proved that a space craft could land on and return from an asteroid. In 2016, NASA plans to send an unmanned rocket to an asteroid. The Telegraph reports that astronauts have begun training for a manned mission to an asteroid.

The significance to the gold rush? Asteroids could contain a host of precious metals and a group of business people have proposed mining asteroids. ABC News reports that Planetary Resources, Inc has a vision of collecting precious metals and water from space. Co-founder Eric Anderson said, "If you believe it's important to have continued prosperity for future generations, we need resources from somewhere."

The proposition won’t be cheap but these folks have the backing of some high rollers such as Larry Page, co-founder and CEO of Google and Eric Schmidt, Google's executive chairman.

I think it would be cool to mine asteroids; as long as we don't abandon manned space flight. What do you think; will this lead to a rush for metal ores in the great vacuum of space?