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Do you think self-driving cars will have different shapes in future, or is the existing typical look of cars the optimum shape? TBH, I can see lots of problems

Do you think self-driving cars will have different shapes in future, or is the existing typical look of cars the optimum shape? TBH, I can see lots of problems even in existing cars for people - too many blind spots, too uncomfortable to get in and get out, more dangerous for those sitting on the driving side. I wonder if all these problems will go away with self-driving cars, or are they necessary consequences of an optimum design to meet safety regulations.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
unreal37 9y ago
I think the "uncomfortable to get in and out" needs to be addressed. Without the steering wheel, perhaps the seat can swivel, or perhaps passengers can exit from the front or back. I doubt, at typical car speeds, aerodynamics is a big factor. It's not like a jet.
- kuschku 9y ago
  An interesting idea that Mercedes showed in their self-driving prototypes (which only ran on a hardcoded loop for that test) was having all seats face the middle, so the passengers could look at one another. That's a lot more comfortable, and already common for the rear two rows in larger cars.
  - IntronExon 9y ago
    It sounds fun, but I know at least two people who would be violently carsick in that situation.
    - munificent 9y ago
      Most trains I've ridden on have seats like this and it seems to work out OK. If you're one of the people who gets motion sickness if not facing forward, just grab one of the forward-facing seats.
      - icebraining 9y ago
        Trains generally make much wider curves, so the effect is minimized.
- ufmace 9y ago
  That touches some on one of the big potential advantages of having a "cloud" of cheap self-driving cars available. Right now, people need their own car and can mostly only afford one, so they only buy cars that are at least pretty good at everything. And that's like 90% of the market, economies of scale are so strong that car companies don't really make anything but that. Cars that drive on the freeway get a decent advantage from being aerodynamic. And right now, basically nobody wants to buy a car that can't run on the freeway efficiently. If the self-driving car world moves car ownership from individuals to large taxi fleets, then markets open up for all sorts of specialized vehicles. Now we can make something that's super easy to enter and exit but has poor aerodynamics and high-speed handling. They might be awful on the highway, but the self-driving car taxi company will still buy some as long as they have enough non-highway ride requests and interest in the vehicle type.
tdb7893 9y ago
I think you will see the interior of cars change but the exterior will be fairly similar for aerodynamic reasons
empath75 9y ago
Get rid of the need for windows and steering wheel you have a lot of options. In a self-driving taxi you could even have multiple self contained 'cubicles' so you could share rides and not have to interact with anybody else.
- icebraining 9y ago
  So could you in a bus, yet we don't, even on private buses. I also doubt the windows will go away. Who prefers to be stuck in a windowless cubicle?
wjnc 9y ago
More than I could ever think of on this topic (podcast and links related); http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2017/08/benedict_evans.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2017/08/benedict_evans.html
skrause 9y ago
I think self-driving single passenger taxis will look more like the Renault Twizy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Twizy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Twizy There's really no need that every car is a >1.5 ton vehicle that can fit 5 people or more when 90% of the trips are with just one person inside.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Two-person cars are already reasonably common (here in Europe), no need to wait for the brave new future.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

unreal37 9y ago

I think the "uncomfortable to get in and out" needs to be addressed. Without the steering wheel, perhaps the seat can swivel, or perhaps passengers can exit from the front or back. I doubt, at typical car speeds, aerodynamics is a big factor. It's not like a jet.

kuschku 9y ago
An interesting idea that Mercedes showed in their self-driving prototypes (which only ran on a hardcoded loop for that test) was having all seats face the middle, so the passengers could look at one another. That's a lot more comfortable, and already common for the rear two rows in larger cars.
- IntronExon 9y ago
  It sounds fun, but I know at least two people who would be violently carsick in that situation.
  - munificent 9y ago
    Most trains I've ridden on have seats like this and it seems to work out OK. If you're one of the people who gets motion sickness if not facing forward, just grab one of the forward-facing seats.
    - icebraining 9y ago
      Trains generally make much wider curves, so the effect is minimized.
ufmace 9y ago
That touches some on one of the big potential advantages of having a "cloud" of cheap self-driving cars available. Right now, people need their own car and can mostly only afford one, so they only buy cars that are at least pretty good at everything. And that's like 90% of the market, economies of scale are so strong that car companies don't really make anything but that. Cars that drive on the freeway get a decent advantage from being aerodynamic. And right now, basically nobody wants to buy a car that can't run on the freeway efficiently. If the self-driving car world moves car ownership from individuals to large taxi fleets, then markets open up for all sorts of specialized vehicles. Now we can make something that's super easy to enter and exit but has poor aerodynamics and high-speed handling. They might be awful on the highway, but the self-driving car taxi company will still buy some as long as they have enough non-highway ride requests and interest in the vehicle type.

tdb7893 9y ago

I think you will see the interior of cars change but the exterior will be fairly similar for aerodynamic reasons

empath75 9y ago

Get rid of the need for windows and steering wheel you have a lot of options. In a self-driving taxi you could even have multiple self contained 'cubicles' so you could share rides and not have to interact with anybody else.

icebraining 9y ago
So could you in a bus, yet we don't, even on private buses. I also doubt the windows will go away. Who prefers to be stuck in a windowless cubicle?

wjnc 9y ago

More than I could ever think of on this topic (podcast and links related); http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2017/08/benedict_evans.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2017/08/benedict_evans.html

skrause 9y ago

I think self-driving single passenger taxis will look more like the Renault Twizy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Twizy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Twizy There's really no need that every car is a >1.5 ton vehicle that can fit 5 people or more when 90% of the trips are with just one person inside.

icebraining 9y ago
Two-person cars are already reasonably common (here in Europe), no need to wait for the brave new future.