Friday, January 4, 2013

Lexus Autonomous Driving Technology Teaser: 2013 CES


HighGearMedia.com, Friday, January 4, 2:01 PM 

By Nelson Ireson


The Consumer Electronics Show has, over the past several years, become more and more about automotive technology. This year, Lexus will be flaunting its latest, including its take on autonomous driving tech.

While the company is touting the system as if it were about to reach production, one look at the monstrosity in the video here shows it's still very much a matter of research and development--much like Google's similarly-outfitted autonomous cars.
That's not to say that the sensors and equipment, once adapted to the intended use, couldn't be made smaller and integrated into production cars. In fact, that's exactly what we expect to happen--we just don't expect it for several more years, at the least.
The whole idea of autonomous cars is a bit of a mixed bag for enthusiasts like ourselves. While we can appreciate the potential for safety advances, easier--and more productive--commutes, and even a possible reduction in traffic slow-downs, the idea of handing over all control of a high-speed vehicle to a computer that's, at best, only partially aware of its surroundings, well...that's another matter.   http://www.washingtonpost.com/cars/lexus-autonomous-driving-technology-teaser-2013-ces/2013/01/04/761f7a34-56a9-11e2-89de-76c1c54b1418_story.html