DETROIT – Seeing the Mercedes F 015 in person was a thing of beauty. What a departure from the Google self-driving pods we’re so used to seeing as the vision for the autonomous car in the future. It was the difference between a cute and cuddly cartoon character version of autonomous driving and a sleek space ship from another world. OK, maybe this is a bit dramatic, but to see this concept in person vs. just a drawing was pretty amazing and cool.
The research vehicle had all of the trappings of what you expect from a traditional car. Headlights, brake lights, a dashboard, steering wheel and gas/brake pedals. But it also gave the feel of an intimate meeting space on wheels. The seats could face each other for a gathering of four with polished wood flooring and plexiglass touchscreen panels in the doors.
Beam me up Scotty – I’m ready to go for a ride!
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Claudia Bacco, Managing Director – EMEA for RCR Wireless News, has spent her entire career in telecom, IT and security. Having experience as an operator, software and hardware vendor and as a well-known industry analyst, she has many opinions on the market. She’ll be sharing those opinions along with ongoing trend analysis for RCR Wireless News.
