“The Future of Driving,” by Tom Chiarella examines the development of cars and roads over the years. The author suggests that both haven’t changed much in the last hundred years. In an effort to discover what scientists and engineers are working on today, Chiarella goes on a quest to find “the future of driving.” First, he wants to know whether there is a flying car and/or if we’re close to getting there. The closest he gets to a flying car is in fact an airplane that drives. Invented by Carl Dietrich, the “Transition” is an SUV-sized plane with folding wings. Instead of a driver’s license, one would need a sport pilot’s license to drive or fly this vehicle.
Among other developments, Chiarella finds a very interesting project underway at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, the Smart Cities project. According to the article the project “studies ways cars and cities can intelligently respond to each other.” He describes a part of the project called the City Car, an engineless vehicle run by motors within wheel casters. It would be a fully automated, fully sensored vehicle with the ability to shift in all directions much like a desk chair.
Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/best-n-brightest-2006/ESQ1206DRIVING_176_1
