We’re only a few steps away from real-life Transformers. Or Terminators. Or both.
A recent report from the consulting firm McKinsey says the technology used to build the self-driving cars could end up in robots, benefiting the human race in many ways.
Robots could be built using the same technologies currently being developed for autonomous cars, such as GPS, image recognition, or artificial intelligence.
Some of that hardware used in self-driving cars could find its way into robots, lowering production costs and the price for consumers. More importantly, common parts could help mechanics fix broken robots and broken cars, and the machine-to-machine communication could also be shared.
Autonomous vehicles have become increasingly popular among car manufacturers and other forward thinking companies. Google, Audi, BMW, even Apple apparently, those are the companies building their own driverless vehicles.
Intel, Sony, Honda and Toyota, together with Google, are building robots, too.
The report said that the companies will outline their plans for driverless cars within the next few years. Trucks will be the first vehicles to lose their drivers. This makes sense because truck drivers often have to drive for days, putting themselves in danger. However, this also means truck drivers should soon start looking for a new career path.
Insurers will end up covering manufacturers for technical failures, McKinsey said.
Autonomous cars won’t appear in critical mass on public roads before 2040, but when they do, they will give people an extra 50 minutes in their day, which is usually spent on driving to and from work.
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