Driverless Buses Ready To Start Hauling People Around In Shanghai

The world is becoming automated, we all know that much. Everything from our floors getting cleaned to our cars driving is becoming automatic in one way or another. It’s quite exciting, but just a tad bit scary as well. To hand over the control to a bunch of micro chips and some software is not exactly the easiest of things to do. The people in Shanghai will have to get used to this though since the city is soon to start implementing driverless buses to haul around its population.

Chances are likely that you have experienced automation already. If you have ever flown great distances, you can be sure the autopilot has kept the plane in perfect alignment with your destination. But when it comes to driverless buses, things can be a little less easy to adapt to. Imagine large vehicles driving around on the streets without a driver. It can be a horrifying experience to say the least, as we are all pretty much brought up with the notion that a vehicle is always operated by someone.

However, the driverless buses of Shanghai are not left entirely unattended. They are all actually guided by hidden magnets in the ground, which gives them little room for failure. Still, making sure that pedestrians are kept safe is something that has taken years to perfect. Look at it as a software that constantly detects whether someone is close to the vehicle itself while in motion. This technology is already implemented in some newer models of the BMW for example. Anti-crash systems like these are a must in driverless vehicles, especially driverless buses.

The buses set to start rolling in Shanghai are 11-seat (plus one wheelchair space), 24-passenger coaches featuring lightweight aluminum frames with huge glass windows on the sides and roof. The driverless buses can be called upon by passengers from their mobile phones, and people can arrange to have the driverless buses stop at a particular place along the route. Its deployment will begin in Shanghai’s Minhang District and then spread out gradually to the rest of the city. It’s amazing how close we’re starting to get to the ever looming Blade Runner society! Driverless buses, check!

Driverless Buses In Shanghai

Via: [cnBeta]