"That still gives the design a lot of scope as an urban taxi, says Bryant Walker Smith, an expert on autonomous vehicles at the University of South Carolina. “Almost the entire island of Manhattan between the expressways could be accommodated by a vehicle operating at 25 miles per hour,” he says. “Right there, you have several million people who could be serviced by a car like this.”
A slow, light car such as Prototype is also less apt to be involved in a catastrophic accident. Impacts are more likely to be gentle fender-benders rather than pile-ups, and there’s less potential to injure or kill pedestrians or cyclists. “A limited-environment low-speed vehicle will be technologically and socially viable sooner than a vehicle capable of operating anywhere,” says Smith."
- Date Published:05/18/2015
- Original Publication:MIT Technology Review