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One thing I haven’t seen much discussion of is the value of the data that fleets of these cars are going to throw off. It’s possible that the value of this dat
by xyzzy123 8y ago
One thing I haven’t seen much discussion of is the value of the data that fleets of these cars are going to throw off.
It’s possible that the value of this data could subsidise ride costs. They basically become a ubiquitous street level surveillance system and for this to be effective you want a lot of them driving around.
Some examples:
Detailed local weather mapping.
Potential for near real time street view.
Very detailed sensing of traffic flows and trends, can also estimate pedestrian traffic.
Could use the sensors to track non self driving cars by alpnr. Locate stolen or wanted vehicles.
Automated reporting of traffic infringements, dangerous driving or accidents.
Can estimate patronage of almost any business, via rides to destination, counting carparks, local foot traffic etc.
Can sell data on infrastructure conditions (pothole location, missing signs, etc) to cities.
Lots of other detailed profiling on riders, consumers, businesses. For example can automatically distinguish between blue collar bars and cocktail lounges.
Almost certainly lots lots more I couldn’t imagine. It’s the data!
- ntsplnkv2 8y agoAll of these things can be done already without self driving cars.
- maccam94 8y agoI mean, you could do everything you do on a smartphone before smartphones came out. The consolidation of tools into a single ubiquitous device is what really changed the game.
- ntsplnkv2 8y agoThat consolidation of tools couldn't happen UNTIL the smartphone came out though. Again, none of those things require self driving technology to put onto a central unit in a car. Add some cameras and sensors that collect data. A lot of this already happens with things like OnStar and other insurance schemes.
- maccam94 8y agoBut those sensors aren't going to be installed on every car without a strong core value proposition. Self-driving is a feature that can justify the investment in those sensor installations. Additional use cases can piggy-back on them later.
- ntsplnkv2 8y agoYou've very clearly demonstrated the strong core value proposition. > Self-driving is a feature that can justify the investment in those sensor installations. Most of these sensors on their own are pretty cheap for simple data collection. Again, most of this stuff is already tracked, take google maps, or onstar, as examples.
- binomialxenon 8y agoUbiquitous surveillance is the last thing we need, just the next step in turning the US into an authoritarian nightmare. I don't know who would want to live in a world where robo-cars would call the cops on you for jaywalking or minor non-dangerous traffic violations. On a side note, the Google Play Services running in the background on most smartphones have already been mapping traffic hotspots and measuring business patronage by time of day.
- puranjay 8y agoWith Google's existing maps knowledge, I can very easily see them subsidizing the rides by showing passengers advertisements as they pass certain landmarks. Say, you pass a mall and the passenger sees an ad on the car screen about a sale at Macy's located inside the mall. With a single tap, the passenger has the option of re-routing the car to the mall. No way Google isn't going to try to monetize it with targeted ads
- xyzzy123 8y agoOoh that’s not bad. You could also pay to be higher in the rankings when someone asks to be taken to someplace generic like “I want breakfast” or “what liquor stores are nearby”.