Will Driverless Cars Replace Domestic Airline Flights?

Driverless cars could spell doom for domestic airlines and business hotels, rest stops and restaurants within the next twenty or so years, according to a senior strategist at Audi.

Sven Schuwirth, vice president of brand strategy and digital business at the german car manufacturer thinks that short-haul travel will change forever with the emergence of autonomous vehicles.

“Business travellers will be able to avoid taking domestic flights to meetings and will sleep and work in their cars en route instead of checking into city-centre hotels”, he said.

According to Schuwirth, inside of the car may resemble a small room. So the car’s seats may fold down to make beds and you could have a screen handy, for entertainment. Should the trip be a long one, you could rent a driverless car at night and sleep in while the car takes you to your destination.

Speaking to design publication Dezeen, Schuwirth added, “Today’s cars are shaped to be only an emotional piece and to be very comfortable and safe,” he said. “So in an autonomous world, if cars do not have accidents any more, the cars do not have have a small amount of glass, a lot of metal, a lot of bumpers and all that stuff. It could be a bit more transparent.”

In response, the hotels and restaurants on the way would have to transform too. After all, why would a person need rest if he’s been sleeping throughout the journey?

In alignment with Schuwirth’s foretelling, it has been in the news that supercar brand McLaren has been looking into shape-shifting cars. McLaren’s chief designer Robert Melville recently said that at the start of this year cars could soon adjust their geometry and functionality as they switch between urban and out-of-town driving.

Schuwirth imagines the driverless cars of the future to still have steering wheels in case the driver wants to take control, but the interior arrangement will feature items like sofas or beds instead of uncomfortable car seats of today.

However, certain countries require by law, that a human must retain ultimate control of a vehicle. Also, the driving conditions, infrastructure and other factors might limit the use of autonomous vehicles to a few countries.

Schuwirth goes on to paint a very vivid, almost sci-fiction like picture of the driverless car. He says a car won’t just remain a means to get you from point A to B. It could wake you up, be your ‘telecommute’ office between your home and office, your hotel when you’re on the go and your companion in all your adventures.

Schuwirth’s predictions only build upon all the technology available today. It won’t be long before his predictions come true and autonomous vehicles become mainstream. And seeing that technology has grown and spread at an insane rate in the recent years, his prophecies may fulfill much sooner than expected.[the_ad_group id=”46″]