Category Archives: Vehicles

Oil Prices Will Drop

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Idea: invest in airlines

Why?

There is only one way that clean and renewable energy prices will go, and that is lower, with improvements in technology

There is only one way that the percentage of cars being electric will go, and that is higher. Not just because of lower running costs, but also government incentives, acceleration, and less moving parts = less maintenance costs.

In the USA, 71% of oil is used for transportation.

If oil prices increase, people will switch to electric vehicles more quickly. So that is not an option.

If oil prices decrease, oil-rich countries will make less money, but it will last much longer. All leaders postpone bad news if they can.

Prediction:

Oil prices will slowly decline.
Many industries will benefit from lower electricity costs
Airlines don’t have alternatives for fuel. Even if electric aircraft become a thing, planes have a lifespan of 30+ years.
Fuel costs are a major factor for airlines.

Lower oil prices will translate into profits for airlines. Invest. 

Open Source Uber

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Parts of the Uber software can be replicated and provided as a open-source product. Uber consists of

  • Location mapping
  • Payment processing
  • Pricing based on complex demand algorithms

What if an app had only the first two components? And the third was replaced with manual bidding by drivers?

Here’s how it would work:

  1. User tells the app they want a ride, just like in Uber
  2. The 15 closest available drivers are alerted and respond with a fare they will work for
  3. The quickest 5 offers appear in the app, and the user gets to see where they are, estimated times, and the rating of each driver
  4. The rest works just like Uber

Such an app would give all power to the drivers, who would operate the app as a collective. The overheads would be substantially less than the commission charged by Uber, meaning cheaper fares for riders and higher income for drivers.

Because Uber drivers famously aren’t employees, they would be able to use the co-op app at the same time as Uber, meaning it is low risk to try.

Note Libre Taxi seem to be partway there…

Uber Semi-scheduled

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This is my typical Uber use – I’m planning on being at X for a few hours (bar, pool hall, friend’s place) and then catch an Uber around X time to the next place.

Because I am going from one social situation to another, I don’t want to book a ride for a certain time. But I am fairly sure of the journey and a time window. It would be helpful to Uber if they knew what my loose plans were.

I could be rewarded for letting Uber know my loose plans in advance, if I tend to actually do as I plan.

And Uber can know when 30 people are all expecting to catch Uber when their work party finishes, or whatever. They can have some cars in the area, and maybe rides that take them near there can be cheaper…

The Citizen Postal Service

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Roads are getting more congested, and posting letters is getting more expensive.

Congestion tax works OK, but for many people the extra cost won’t put them off driving in congested areas. They need a different pain point. Like inconvenience.

You will be required to plan your journey. If there is post that needs picking up and dropping off within reasonable distances of your route, you will be required to deliver it.

There are major problems with this idea, such as if the post is free will people abuse the system, overhead costs, and the most congested places aren’t easy to pull over and deliver mail.

The idea is that we should investigate other pain points other than money, like:

Community Service – so many hours equal hours of congested driving
Forced Car Sharing
Income Tested – rich people pay more
Car-Worth Tested – luxury vehicles pay more
Electric vs Non-Electric
Driving Record – people with speeding fines are forbidden from congested areas for X months

Robot Theft Will Be a Big Problem

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Robots and autonomous vehicles won’t be allowed to arm themselves. Which makes them easy pickings for thieves and and anyone who just hates robots (perhaps they lost their job to one).

An autonomous car is easy to stop – you just step out in front of it. What about a truck? Lots of valuable cargo might be in it.

To thwart the bad guys we will need:

  • Vehicles and robots that are very difficult to break into
  • Cameras that are monitored in real time
  • More surveillance cameras in general
  • Networking of robots and vehicles

There’s no point having video of someone stealing a robot, if they are wearing a mask. You need surveillance cameras that pick up where they arrived from and when they put the mask on. And if all the cameras are networked, AI can spot bad guys before they actually commit the crime.

And so the debate will begin – is increased surveillance a fair price to pay to protect out robots?

Self-Driving Car as Video Studio

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Self-driving cars are coming…
Some people already record themselves using dash cams while driving…

In the future, some people will have self-driving cars that are essentially a video studio where they can film themselves. That way the hour of commuting is use efficiently by those who want/need to video themselves everyday.

  • One bench seat at the rear of the car, or a pair of swivel seats
  • Green screen behind the seat
  • Microphone above the seat
  • Multiple cameras
  • Blacked out windows

You could even have a teleprompter…