DriverlessTaxi
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Masdar City's driverless pods now whisking students around on a limited basis (video)
Oh, sure -- Masdar City's driverless pods may not make nearly as many stops as your average metro, but it essentially matches the usefulness of the subway station in Pyongyang. And with a lot less energy waste, to boot. If you'll recall, these driverless pods were planned years ago, and while the ambitions have been quelled somewhat thanks to the economic crunch, that hasn't stopped students and engineers from using 2GetThere's pods, magnets and a fiber optic system to create a two-stop transfer system at the university. For now, they're whisking students between a pair of drop points that are 800 meters apart, traveling 15 miles per hour and instilling fear into everyone who dares step inside. As for the future? Only The Jetsons truly know, but you can take a glimpse in the video just past the break.
Heathrow taxi pods become a glorious, driverless reality
Finally, we are in the future -- Heathrow Airport is rolling out those driverless pod taxis it announced two years ago, and they look just as adorable as ever. The ULTra Personal Pod cars are fully automated battery-powered pods that zoom around at up to 25mph on a special road network, and can transport four passengers and their luggage between Heathrow's Terminal 5 and its business car parks. If, like us, you have a thing for retro-futuristic design, you'll do well to check out the gallery below, complete with interior shots, and there's also a video after the break. Enjoy! [Via BoingBoing Gadgets]
Masdar City's driverless podcars are more shuttle than Johnny Cab
Welcome to the future of urban transportation, a driverless taxi that will get you where you're going without any unpleasant human interaction or labor disputes. This is the PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) podcar from Zagato, a fully electric and fully automated taxi system set to shuttle people around Masdar City, an eco-utopia under development in Abu Dhabi that pledges to have no carbon footprint and no real roads, leaving these to buzz along underground at a leisurely 15 mph. Unlike other prototype autonomous taxis we've seen these will initially only be able to go between set locations, but the hope is that in the not too distant future they'll take you to within 100 meters of any location in the city -- hopefully with the accompaniment of Robert Picardo's unique vocal talents.[Via Switched]
