Long before Google, Apple or Samsung toyed with our dreams, car companies rolled out spectacular dream machines that ignited the imagination. Bubble glass tops, cars powered by gas turbines, cars with 6 wheels, flaps for breaking and joysticks instead of steering wheels. The ideas were only limited by what could be dreamt up.
Cities have always been hubs of technological experimentation, shaped by the people who inhabit them and the tools they use. We can still see the marks, both charming and garish, from technologies of years past — from old aqueducts to telephone booths to the damage done by cars.
Hours after Uber launched driverless cars in Pittsburgh, aldermen proposed an ordinance to ban driverless cars in Chicago.
At TechCrunch Disrupt SF this year, famed iPhone and PlayStation hacker George Hotz unveiled the first official product of his automotive AI startup, Comma.ai. The Comma One is a $999 add-on shipping before the end of the year, with a $24 monthly subscription for its software, which Hotz says will be able to drive your car from Mountain View to San Francisco without requiring a driver to touch the wheel, the brake or the gas.
