Robotic Elder Care

[Walt34]

A self-driving car would need to be cleaned regularly or it would be disgusting fast. I see a large market for private self-driving cars even after they are in common usage.

I tried "Plane Partnership". That was difficult enough even though it sat most of the time.... I'll pass on the idea of co-ownership in a car.

Those are the two reasons I'm not keen on the idea of an "on call" car system. The general public is disgustingly sloppy (present company excepted of course) and if they don't have an ownership stake in the vehicle they have no reason to make any effort to keep it clean.

And there are peak travel times that occasionally I'll have to travel during although mostly I try to avoid that. When that happens I want a car available. Immediately.

 

[MRG]

I like the idea of car sharing on demand, but I'm also thinking that there is a big difference between the state of a privately owned car and a public accommodation like a bus or a subway. Vehicles that are open to anyone will need to be built to sustain the damage inflicted by the general public, not to mention being sluiced out after the evening drunk runs home from bars. Ask Uber drivers about the problems of passengers being sick in their cars. A call-on-demand self-driving car would probably be even worse, since the Uber driver can at least refuse to accept the ride if the passengers are heavily intoxicated. A self-driving car would need to be cleaned regularly or it would be disgusting fast. I see a large market for private self-driving cars even after they are in common usage.

If you have ever taken the last tube from London after the pubs close...... not good.

 

[Music Lover]

One of the factors in favor of self-driving cars is that there is no need to own one. Just call for one when you need it and it delivers itself. Thus you need pay for only that part of the depreciation and maintenance associated with your own use, a tiny fraction of the cost of operating a solely owned car.

That technology has existed for decades...they call them "cabs".

 

[NW-Bound]

... A self-driving car would need to be cleaned regularly or it would be disgusting fast. I see a large market for private self-driving cars even after they are in common usage.

Some people enjoy popping others' bubble. Come on, public self-driving cars cannot be worse than roadside toilets by the side of the highway, can they?

It's been a long time since I do a roadtrip with a car instead of my motorhome. I have been spoiled.

 

[Amethyst]

So what we are heading toward is a cab...without the cabbie. Well, it will save on tips. Wonder what all the cab drivers will do?

That technology has existed for decades...they call them "cabs".

 

[NW-Bound]

They will be relegated to be the cleaning crew for the fleet of self-driving cabs.

I thought about the problem foreseen by growing_older, and the way to handle it would be to have the interior of these new cabs unlike today's cars. It will be all plastic including the seats. There's no upholstery, no fabric. It will be designed to be hosed down, and sprayed with disinfectants like bleach. This should be quite feasible as the car will need no dashboard or anything that can be damaged by water.