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flying Ppl :D

⠀⠀⠀⠈⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠰⠀⠀⠀⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠐⠉⠱⠢⠀⢤⣄⢲⣄⠀⠀⠀⠄⠀⠙⢠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣨⣷⡞⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠈⠁⠈⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠁⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠠⠶⠯⣤⢤⣄⣀⣤⢾⣿⣿⣿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⡦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡤⢁⡀⠀⣴⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡀⠀⠠⢶⣆⠀⠀⠀⢀⣤⣶⢟⠉⠀⣠⣾⣿⡋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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⢰⡇⠀⠀⠀⡀⡀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⡇⢰⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣀⣠⠤⠤⠄⠠⠄⠤⣈⣛⢷⣿⣿⣿⡟⢭⣷⣿⣿⠿⠋⢐⣇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⡈⠁⠀⠀⢘⣧⣾⣷⣶⡌⠀⣾⡀⢺⣴⠃⡀⠀⠀⢀⣤⠞⠛⢉⣭⡥⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠳⣿⣯⣿⣿⣾⣿⠟⠉⠀⠀⢸⡿⡓⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⡇⠀⠀⠀⣸⣯⣟⣿⣬⣿⣆⢻⣧⢸⡟⣴⠏⣼⠇⠀⢠⣞⣷⡿⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣽⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡏⢻⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⡇⠀⢸⡆⣿⣿⣿⡿⣿⣿⣻⣿⠛⣯⣿⢹⡄⢀⡄⣰⠏⠿⣿⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⣿⣿⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⣿⡈⠿⢦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⣧⣶⠿⢡⣿⣷⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠀⢸⣧⡟⠁⠎⡰⠏⠀⠰⢧⠀⠀⠀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⣿⡟⣽⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡟⠁⠀⠈⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⣿⠉⠀⣾⣿⣿⣮⣿⣿⣿⣽⣷⣠⣼⢾⣇⠀⣴⠃⠀⢠⠀⢸⣶⡄⠈⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣶⣿⡿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣿⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⣿⠨⠀⠹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣯⣿⣿⡗⢠⣿⠀⣿⢀⠀⠈⢷⡄⠻⣿⣦⣠⣿⣿⣿⣿⠟⠁⣹⣯⠻⣏⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⣻⡟⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⣿⡸⣇⣠⣏⣿⢿⣿⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣌⣿⣧⣻⡆⣾⣿⣦⠻⢦⡈⠛⢿⡿⢿⣿⠝⣀⠴⠛⣷⡅⠙⣷⡻⣿⡿⠁⢀⣿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⢹⡇⢿⣿⢿⣿⣼⣿⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣻⣿⣿⣧⡛⠿⣿⣿⣶⠿⠶⠶⠾⢋⣡⠾⠁⣴⠀⠈⠳⣄⣈⢙⢻⡶⠤⣸⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠁⠀⣿⣽⣿⣿⣷⣿⠛⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣾⢷⣾⣷⣶⡶⠿⠛⠁⢀⣼⡟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠙⠿⣿⣻⣶⣿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠂⣠⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣯⣿⣦⠈⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⣻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣭⡉⠁⠠⢤⢀⡠⠖⠿⢻⡾⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⡟⢿⣿⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠛⡀⠸⢇⢻⣿⣿⣿⣟⠒⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣗⣂⣠⣞⡥⠖⠀⢸⡇⠰⣶⣿⣷⡄⠀⠂⢸⠀⣿⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠰⡆⢁⠀⠺⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣿⢾⣭⡛⠿⢥⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠆⠿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡶⠊⠃⠸⣿⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠴⣠⣘⣿⣶⣹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢷⡹⠿⠿⠿⠳⢤⣝⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠛⠛⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠹⣿⣶⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⣶⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣏⡃⠀⠀⠀⠈⠑⢿⠛⠳⣤⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠻⣿⣧⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣯⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⣛⢦⣤⠀⠀⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⣿⣧⣤⣤⣤⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠒⢷⣿⡽⢦⠈⢧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡀⠈⠹⣦⡀⠀

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠀⠑⢬⡓⠶⣆⡀⠘⠂⢀⣠⢶⣾⡿⠿⢿⣆⢸⣿⠀

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠤⠀⠀⠉⠁⠀⠀⢀⣤⣞⣽⣿⡇⠀⠒⢸⡟⣸⣿⠃

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠶⣶⣤⣀⣀⡀⢀⣠⡴⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠏⣠⣠⠾⣡⣿⠟⠀

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡧⠀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⣤⣤⣀⣀⠐⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠛⠻⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⢿⡾⠋⠀⠀⠀

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡄⠠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡀⢉⣉⣭⣭⣍⣛⣀⣀⣀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠉⠻⢿⣿⣿⡿⠿⠉⠙⠀⢿⣦⠀⠀⠀

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣇⡈⠒⢁⣀⠉⠁⢀⣴⢛⡉⠀⠀⠀⢉⣉⣹⣿⣝⣻⠿⢦⡰⢄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⣆⠀⠀

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣠⣾⠿⠟⡏⠸⠀⠀⢲⣌⣭⣿⣽⣿⣿⣷⣤⣹⣀⠹⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣷⡀⠀

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣉⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣥⣤⣤⣵⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣯⣿⣅⣜⠒⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⣿⠄⠀⠀

⢹⠿⢛⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣽⠿⣭⣿⣿⢛⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣿⣿⡟⢴⣿⡿⠿⣿⣿⣷⣆⠀⡀⣠⣾⡇⠀⠀⠀

⡈⠞⢘⠛⡽⢿⣿⣿⡿⢭⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⣿⣿⣬⣥⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣿⡾⣿⠉⠀⠾⣿⡻⣿⢿⣿⠛⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⢂⡟⣻⣿⠃⠘⣏⠹⣾⣿⣷⠛⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣸⡟⢁⠀⠻⣦⡀⠈⣷⡸⣶⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⢀⠘⣡⠟⠷⠀⠄⠈⠀⠒⠶⢶⢟⣶⣞⣻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠻⠇⠀⠀⠘⠀⠈⠷⠀⠈⠿⠸⣿⣧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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Woman killed by Uber's self-driving car

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Police late Wednesday released a video that shows an Uber robot car running straight into a woman who was walking her bicycle across a highway in Tempe, Ariz. The woman was taken to a hospital, where she died Sunday night.

The video, shot from the car, is sure to raise debate over who's to blame for the accident.

Meantime, the Uber employee who's sitting behind the wheel of the self-driving test car is seen gazing at his lap before looking up in shock around the time of impact.

It's "important ... that we all learn from this accident and we make these technologies even better. To that end Uber must release all of the data leading up to this crash," said Alain Kornhauser, who heads the autonomous driving program at Princeton University.

Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor and driverless specialist at the University of South Carolina, said: "Although this appalling video isn't the full picture, it strongly suggests a failure by Uber's automated driving system and a lack of due care by Uber's driver as well as by the victim."

In a statement, Uber said: "The video is disturbing and heartbreaking to watch, and our thoughts continue to be with Elaine's loved ones. Our cars remain grounded, and we're assisting local, state and federal authorities in any way we can."

On Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle quoted Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir saying: "It's very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode [autonomous or human-driven] based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway.... I suspect preliminarily it appears that the Uber would likely not be at fault in this accident, either."

The Times asked a Tempe police spokesman whether the chief still suspects Uber is not at fault. The department has yet to respond.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has made driverless car deployment a key pillar of the state's economic development efforts.

The matter is being investigated in detail by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Traffic Safety Board.

"What we now need is for the release of the radar and lidar data," Princeton's Kornhauser said in an email. (Lidar is a sensing technology that uses light from a laser.) "Obviously, the video of the driver is extremely bad for Uber and probably implies that Uber should suspend all of its 'self-driving' efforts for a while if not for a very long while.

"The front-facing video suggests that this person was crossing the lane at a slow speed and should have been noticed by the system in time to at least apply the brakes, if not stop the vehicle completely," he said. "While a human may not have been able to avoid this crash, a well-designed, well-working collision avoidance system should have at least begun to apply the brakes."

March 23, 1:45 p.m.: This article has been updated with new analysis of the video.

8:00 p.m.: This story was updated with a comment from law professor Bryant Walker Smith.

7:50 p.m.: This story was updated with a comment from Uber.

5:35 p.m.: This article has been updated with the speed of the car.

This article was originally published at 5:10 p.m.

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Experts say video of Uber's self-driving car killing a pedestrian suggests its technology may have failed

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Police released a video taken by the Uber self-driving car that hit and killed a woman who was crossing a highway in Tempe, Ariz., on Sunday. The video shows the human engineer behind the wheel of the car gazing at his lap before looking up in shock around the time of the impact.

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Google may be synonymous with driverless cars these days, but the concept can trace its history back long before the Internet search giant even existed.

An exhibit at Silicon Valley's Computer History Museum-located not that far from Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, in fact-looks at both the history and current state of self-driving cars, featuring some pretty interesting blasts from the past, as we'll see in this video report.

Take the 1939 World's Fair, where General Motors presented its Futurama exhibit to project what the world would look like in 1960. In a time before computers, GM envisioned a system in which cars were operated by radio from a central control tower.

Archival footage of GM's plans for driverless cars can be seen at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.

"General Motors actually tried to do this in the '50s in combination with RCA radio and it worked," says Marc Weber, founding curator of the Internet History Program at the Computer History Museum. "It's still used in test tracks today. The stumbling block is you would need to retrofit all the freeways. There was actually a big effort to do that, a lot of funding went into it, a lot of studies but it never hit critical mass."

These days, with the likes of Google, Toyota, and Nissan all working hard at the technology, it's quite possible that a self-driving car revolution will come about in our own lifetime. But a lot of development remains to be done.

Google's fleet of self-driving cars figures prominently in the new exhibit at the Computer History Museum.

"Once you get even the speeds you have on a secondary road, you're way past the speeds that you can stop before every obstacle," Weber said. "So you need to be able to predict ahead of the car to see the pedestrian crossing and make some intelligent guess about which way they're going to go. It seems simple, but it raises an order of magnitude the degree of intelligence you need in a car."

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How we arrived at today's self-driving cars -- and where the road leads

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Google may be synonymous with driverless cars these days, but the concept can trace its history back long before the Internet search giant even existed. An exhibit at Silicon Valley's Computer History Museum-located not that far from Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, in fact-looks at both the history and current state of self-driving cars, featuring some pretty interesting blasts from the past, as we'll see in this video report.

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Columbus

The problem

People in poor communities such as Linden have worse access to jobs, doctors and data. They're being "left out of the great recovery," the city says. Many don't have the resources, or even the credit needed, to sign up for Uber or a cheaper iteration of ride-hailing.

By the numbers

There are tens of thousands of unfilled jobs that company reps say people aren't equipped to take. At the same time, tens of thousands of people have been looking for work for at least a year. Infant mortality is three times higher in Linden than in the rest of Franklin County (25.7 per 1,000 vs. 8.5 per 1,000).

The idea

Tackle the inconveniences and impediments of daily travel by tying together neighborhoods and connecting people to higher education and health care, as well as to training and job opportunities.

How?

Run an autonomous circulator in one of Ohio's largest job centers, Easton, which is adjacent to Linden and which proponents say would make access easier for people in both communities. Distribute a smart card and app that cover everything from bus fares to ride and car-sharing services and could be used by those who are dependent on cash. With its mix of blue-collar, white-collar and older workers, and its diversity, firms such as McDonald's and brands such as Victoria's Secret have seen Columbus as the "test marketing capital of the world," the city's mayor says. Now they want to test-market tricked-out road networks. Their slogan: "Becoming the Silicon Valley of intelligent transportation systems."

"Some people say, 'What the heck does infant mortality have to do with transportation?' I say, 'Everything.'...That's a reflection of the quality of life in the neighborhood. Poverty is rampant. Violence is disproportionate." Fixing those "social determinants of health" depends on having physical access to opportunities. - Columbus mayor Andrew J. Ginther

San Francisco

The problem

Too many cars jammed in a tight space, leading to horrendous traffic, pollution, greenhouse gases, noise and crashes.

By the numbers

Just over half of all trips are taken in roughly 5,000 trains, buses, taxis or car shares - or on foot or bike, the city says. The other half of trips are in an estimated 450,000 cars.

The idea

Let city residents choose neighborhoods to test out strategies to slash that car total. And once that happens, replace unneeded parking garages and even some intersections with affordable housing.

How?

They are proposing a massive behavioral experiment: How do you get people to change their habits?

The pilot would try to lure people from their own cars to shared, clean-running electric vehicles, either with drivers or without (if robot cars prove cheap and trusty enough). The carrot? Ease and relative speed. Those in shared rides can use new dedicated carpool lanes (either marked on the pavement or drawn virtually using navigation apps such as Waze) to speed trips. One possible location: side streets near entrances to the gummed up Bay Bridge, where shared-only lanes could shave crucial, aggravating minutes off trips.

Officials see a fat market: A lot of people can afford more than the current cost of transit, but less than an Uber or Lyft on every trip. They want to figure out how government policy and technology can speed development of that market. Drawing in bigger vehicles, with, say, six-passenger vans, might help cut costs.

"We can move the same amount of people with a tenth of the vehicles...It's really going to open up our minds. We're not going to need to have all that excess road space. It could be open space, gardens or playgrounds." - Timothy Papandreou, chief innovation officer, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

Austin

The problem

Epically plugged-up roadways are exacerbating soaring property prices downtown, as people crowd in for jobs and manageable commutes. Musicians and others that make the city sing are being forced out, and music venues are getting replaced.

By the numbers

Austin's population soared from 790,000 in 2010 to 932,000 in 2015, a jump of nearly 20 percent. It has been one of the fastest-growing major cities in the United States, and has the most congested highway in Texas, Interstate 35.

The idea

Create transportation hubs largely around the city's edge to prevent downtown from being crushed by cars. Ultimately, "a strategic network of these hubs could eliminate the need for human-driven vehicles in the urban core altogether," the city says.

How?

Give the supercharged "park and ride" lots - they're calling them Smart Stations - some style. Officials want them to be a "cool space . . . kind of like a critical mass of convenience," the mayor says, with walk-in medical clinics and groceries waiting to be picked up from locked refrigerators. They want people pouring into the hubs using shared vehicles or transit, rather than their own cars. People can then head out on electric buses, trains, automated bikes or driverless cars. Among the likely locations: the neighboring city of Pflugerville, where many African American residents have moved, and the green-leaning Mueller neighborhood, a former airport. There'd be a station in the underserved Rundberg area, and a more central station downtown. Once passengers arrive in the city center, they might use a driverless-car service to bop around.

"We are in danger of losing the spirit and soul of this city...Our growth is outstripping our capacity. For Austin, Texas, figuring out the mobility challenge is existential." - Mayor Steve Adler.

Kansas City

The problem

Swaths of the city are isolated, by geography and an information void. Much of the population on the eastern side of the city does not routinely connect to the web.

By the numbers

Nearly 20 percent of people live below the poverty line, and most of the poor live on the city's east side.

The idea

Expand an ambitious but limited tech blitz surrounding a just-opened streetcar line to include struggling neighborhoods.

How?

Advanced technologies have been flipped on in a few places, things like red lights that make timing decisions on the fly, depending on traffic, and streetlights that switch on when people are around. Free high-speed Wi-Fi and public internet kiosks are live in some areas. They want to expand those projects, starting along an eight-mile bus line on Prospect Ave. near the Jazz District and a major education and employment agency for the blind. There would also be gunshot-detection equipment that can talk to nearby patrol cars and tech tools to guide the blind and aid the unemployed by combining transportation and job search data.

"The people who need the jobs often don't even know the jobs are there, so by connecting transportation with digital infrastructure, we're able to marry the two things people need to have most in order to have productive lives...It's transportation to enhance people's lives, not just getting them from home to the ice cream parlor." - Mayor Sylvester "Sly" James, Jr.

Portland

The problem

There are big parts of Portland that are nothing like the Portland of Portlandia, the pedestrian-and-bike friendly, transit-oriented, green-leaning city held up by local officials as "the proto-typer for the nation." Beyond the city's center and away from the fingers of transit jutting outward, some areas have no rail, no sidewalks, and dangerous roads. These areas are often where poorer families and immigrants live. And citywide, soaring plans to slash emissions need a tech boost to become reality.

By the numbers

People are much more likely to be killed on city roads east of 82nd Avenue than elsewhere in Portland, the city says. Portland is seeking zero emissions from its city fleet.

The idea

Tap road-safety and electric-vehicle technologies and feed residents data to shift their behavior.

How?

Robot cars or delivery vans, or other vehicles wirelessly linked to roadways, could slow traffic behind them at dangerous times and places. They'd be sort of like a drafting car in a NASCAR race, the city says. A navigation and payment app would tie together transit, ride-sharing, walking and other ways people get around, with info piped back to customers on the calories burned or the greenhouse gases saved - or dumped into the atmosphere. Allow electric vehicles to plug in to the streetlight and parking meter network, and explore wireless charging and possible new lanes for juicing up while rolling.

"The traffic violence here, and we don't use that term lightly, is significant. We actually had more people die on our streets than we had murdered last year." - Maurice Henderson, assistant transportation director

Pittsburgh

The problem

Mountains and rivers are beautiful impediments to getting around easily. Public transit's reach is limited, and driving can be nightmarish. The city's post-industrial decline stranded many, and its revival bypassed others. Neighborhoods are marked by stark inequality. Dirty-burning coal is still plentiful.

By the numbers

The city's population dropped by more than half since 1950, to 304,391 last year, according to Census figures.

The idea

Recycle an old steel mill site, revive a long-struggling neighborhood and tie both to a tech-augmented transportation network stretching across the city.

How?

Push existing plans to power up the old steel site, known as Almono, using a "microgrid" fueled by solar and geothermal power. The foundations that own the land say such localized power production would be cleaner, cheaper and more efficient, and would serve the poor Hazelwood community. Officials want to use the coming arrival of Uber's driverless-car test course at the steel site to draw more transportation technology jobs. They would link the development to universities and tech companies in nearby Oakland using an autonomous shuttle. A city parking lot would be draped in solar panels to charge electric vehicles, and the city would expand its network of traffic signals that make judgments based on what's happening on the ground.

"We can take an area that hasn't seen any development since the 19th century [and make it] the model of a sustainable development for a new economy...Transportation, energy and technology can be used to create a 21st-century city." - Mayor William Peduto

Denver

The problem

The soaring population has led to crushing congestion, sapping the spirits of people with and without means and putting a sour asterisk on life in the Western boom town.

By the numbers

The population has jumped by nearly 25 percent in 15 years, to 683,000. The city swells by 200,000 a day, with most trips starting or ending outside the city. Roughly a third of people live in poor neighborhoods with high unemployment. Building a single, mile-long lane along jammed Federal Boulevard cost $30 million.

The idea

Marry carpool services such as Lyft Line with light rail, commuter rail and bus lines, so people can more easily get to and from stations and drive less. In poorer areas in particular, the city plans to partner with Lyft and potentially others to promote "on-demand transit."

How?

Since residents in disadvantaged northern neighborhoods and elsewhere lack the bank accounts and resources needed to sign up for ride-hailing services, the city will try to play matchmaker. Officials would help poor residents pay for Lyft trips that start or stop along transit lines. The ride-hailing company could then guarantee rates to encourage drivers to make more pickups in underserved areas. Along the way, the city would gather data on where the holes in service are and test the economics of driverless cars. Officials also want to set up wireless connections with trucks moving through poorer communities such as Globeville and Elyria Swansea, with coordinated red lights cutting travel times and pollution.

"We're trying to make sure folks don't feel the only way to get around is in a car. Being a Western city, that is how a lot of folks feel...The transportation system is a finite system. There's only so much room on the road." - Crissy Fanganello, director of transportation and mobility

78 takes of America's future

From Akron to Yonkers, by way of Memphis and Miami, here are vision statements submitted by all 78 cities, or teams of cities, for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Smart City Challenge. Seven finalists were chosen in March. On June 9th, they held a live-streamed pitch meeting in Washington, and Columbus was declared the winner in June.
See all cities
Design and development by Lazaro Gamio and Katherine Lee

More Coverage

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How seven cities are inventing the future of transportation

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How do you get to the city of the future? Seven cities have spent six months racing to answer that question. They're vying for a $40 million start-up prize from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which asked them to juggle three big ideas: automation, climate change and urban inequality.

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Let's shake ourselves out of our four-wheeled stupor, look at the vehicles and devices being developed, and reimagine how we'll move around our cities, says TED technology curator Alex Moura.

Humanity has come a long way from traveling by horse, but when we consider the future of transportation in cities, too many of us are still stuck in the 18th century.We still envision our streets full of four-wheel chariots (minus the horses), and our future as relying on cars or car-like vehicles, because that's all we know. Why this myopia? For most automakers and transportation companies, adhering to the status quo is more profitable than experimenting; their business models, even for forward thinkers like Tesla, depend on their keeping drivers tethered with maintenance and service. And builders and urban planners have learned to limit their thinking because existing regulations and clunky political processes have made it nearly impossible to innovate without years of negotiations. As a result, we're laying the foundations for a transportation future that carries forward the problems of the past.

But there can be another way forward, a new vision of transportation that upsets the four-wheel chariot model. And signs of it are already rolling across the landscape. By looking at some of the most advanced vehicles and devices out there - not just concept cars and prototypes but vehicles that are already in use or being road-tested in the real world - we can start to see a more interesting, less car-based future. Based on this new crop of transportation-related devices, I'm making the following four predictions:

1. Cars will become much, much smaller.

While SUV and truck sales have been on the rise worldwide, that trend has been boosted by low gasoline prices, which can't last given the finite supplies of fossil fuels.As we move forward,personal urban transportation will be dominated byindividual vehicles.In 2015, Toyota launched a trial run of its three-wheeled i-Road electric vehicles - which resemble an enclosed motorcycle and fit only a driver and perhaps a small passenger - through a network of sharing stations in Tokyo. (We road-tested them at TED, too.) The project is now expanding throughout Japan, a nation with more electric car-charging stations than gas stations. In a bid to become the first country to embrace smart transportation systems, government officials have gone as far as trying to create international car-charging standards.

2. On sidewalks and bike lanes: pint-sized people movers.

In the next decades, bikes will still be a big part of how we move around urban areas. But while many people will continue to use bikes for health reasons, new technologies may overtake them, offering better ways to zip short distances inside cities. Much less cumbersome than a bicycle, scooter or Segway, these seated one-passenger devices take up roughly the space as a person. Without requiring handlebars or parking spaces, they'll run on sidewalks, paved pedestrian areas and bike lanes. Honda's Uni-Cub, a compact electric device with self-balancing technology, is being tested in airports, shopping malls, museums and other indoor venues in Japan (and in that OK Go video). It was designed so that riders could maintain eye-level interactions with other people. Unlike a bike or scooter, these devices leave a rider's hands free to move, so she can do something else while she travels. Active transportation - devices that enhance our natural abilities, rather than restrict them - will be be an important part of the future.

3. Transport won't just be about moving us around; it will be about moving our stuff, too.

Today, many people use cars because they need to haul groceries, work supplies, sports gear ... stuff. In the future, we'll use small wheeled robots that can follow us, like Gita, a mobile servant from Piaggio that is being tested in Italy. Gita was created by a group of historians, designers and architects who are trying to reimagine how our streets could be better used. Bonus: We'll be able to program these rolling helpers to move autonomously, picking up and dropping off things for us all by themselves.

4. Self-driving vehicles will zip through invisible streets of data.

What's stopping us from having a massive autonomous transportation system right now this minute? Old systems. Not just old streets, but weak data networks. Right now there's a handful of self-driving cars and thousands of drones in use, but in the near future there will be millions of each, along with other new technologies, and they'll all be able to communicate with each other and with our handheld and home devices. Superfast, reliable, omnipresent data networks like 5G and Super WiFi with large-scale antenna networks and millimeter wave technology must be built to accommodate the vast amount of data needed. Currently, no country in the world has the infrastructure to accommodate such a flow. Advanced networks are in development, with companies like Qualcomm, Nokia and Samsung field-testing and striving to make them available before 2030. When ready, they will truly turbocharge how we live and commute.

I know some naysayers may think these predictions are fantastical. But then, 20 years ago, I told my coworkers we'd soon be playing games on our phones and they all laughed. Let's see what happens over the next 20 years!

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The future of transportation is already here

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Humanity has come a long way from traveling by horse, but when we consider the future of transportation in cities, too many of us are still stuck in the 18th century.We still envision our streets full of four-wheel chariots (minus the horses), and our future as relying on cars or car-like vehicles, because that's all we know.

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Image: Kirillm, Getty Images/iStockphoto

Articles about technology and the future of transportation rarely used to get far without mentioning jet-packs: a staple of science fiction from the 1920s onwards, the jet pack became a reality in the 1960s in the shape of devices such as the Bell Rocket Belt. But despite many similar efforts, the skies over our cities remain stubbornly free of jet-pack-toting commuters.

For a novel form of transport to make a material difference to our lives, several key requirements must be satisfied. Obviously the new technology must work safely, and operate within an appropriate regulatory framework. But public acceptance and solid business models are also vital if a new idea is to move from R&D lab to testbed to early adoption, and eventually into mainstream usage.

There's inevitably a lot of hype surrounding the future of transportation, but also plenty of substance, with big investments being made both by disruptive tech companies and by incumbent industry players. Can technology help to get us and our goods around quicker, in greater safety, and with less damage to the planet?

Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs)

Image: Waymo

Driverless cars, or Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) are getting the lion's share of attention, but the wider implications of CAVs and other novel forms of transport are also firmly on the agenda -- including smarter, greener cities and more efficient distribution of freight and consumer deliveries.

To get an overview of a large part of this subject area, it's worth examining Gartner's Hype Cycle, and the 2017 status of technologies relating to connected vehicles and smart mobility:

Most of the technologies listed here are in the early stages of the progression towards mainstream adoption, according to Gartner, with only five out of 30 making it beyond the Trough of Disillusionment.

No surprise, then, that there's a lot of activity in the CAV market. In a report published last October The Brookings Institution collated reports of "investments and transactions attributable to autonomous vehicles or core technologies" between August 2014 and June 2017, and found over 160 separate deals amounting to some $80 billion. These covered auto electronics, microchips, rideshare apps, AI/deep learning, digital mapping, non-AI software, physical systems and sensors. The authors concluded that "investment in 2018 should be substantially more than the $80 billion disclosed from 2014 to 2017, and continue upward for some period of time as the race to deploy self-driving moves on."

At the same time, public perception of autonomous vehicle safety seems to be heading in a positive direction. In a survey last year, Gartner found that while 55 percent of respondents (from the US and Germany) would not consider travelling in a fully autonomous car, 71 percent would ride in a partially autonomous vehicle.

These findings are echoed by the Deloitte 2018 Global Automotive Consumer Study, which found that the percentage of respondents considering fully self-driving vehicles unsafe ranged from 57 percent (in Japan) to 22 percent (in Mexico). In the previous year's survey the figures were much higher, ranging between 81 percent (S Korea) and 54 percent (Brazil):

Still, as Deloitte notes, there's a way to go when it comes to the perception of fully autonomous vehicles, with "almost half of consumers in most markets doubting the safety of this technology."

Clearly the degree of driving autonomy is important, and this has been codified by SAE International into six levels ranging from no automation (Level 0) to full automation (Level 5):

Levels 3 and above are considered to be 'automated driving systems'. In a Level 3 vehicle, the system handles steering, acceleration and deceleration, and monitors the driving environment, with human intervention available on request. A fully automated Level 5 vehicle does not require a steering wheel, pedals or any other controls -- humans, if present, are simply passengers.

Many trials of autonomous vehicles are underway around the world, with the highest concentration in California, which not coincidentally provides the best statistics on traffic accidents involving them. Since 2014, California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has logged 54 autonomous vehicle accident reports (as of 18 January 2018).

Reading through these reports, we judged that only four (7.4%) could be 'blamed' on the AV -- and every one of those was under manual control at some point during the incident. Almost all were minor, low-speed accidents with no injuries, and the majority (56%) involved the AV being rear-ended by a vehicle driven by an inattentive human.

The California DMV is currently in the process of amending its regulations to allow the testing of fully autonomous vehicles without drivers (i.e. Level 5 vehicles), which should result in an interesting new crop of accident reports.

The key to improving the performance and safety of autonomous vehicles lies in the maturing of the underlying vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications and (real-time) data processing systems. Over time, the components involved -- including LiDAR systems, for example -- will become cheaper, helping to remove another barrier to adoption. They will also become more power-frugal, making them more suitable for deployment in cleaner electric vehicles.

Autonomous vehicles are likely to prove much safer than conventional ones, and public confidence in them will surely increase. But even in the best-case scenario for CAVs, there will inevitably be a time lag as conventional vehicles are gradually phased out: the average age of light vehicles in the US in 2014 was 11.4 years, for example. The transition period, which could last well over a decade, will see roads carrying a mixture of autonomous and human-driven vehicles, and is likely to prove challenging for drivers, passengers, regulators and enforcement agencies.

And of course, once CAVs become the norm they will still have to deal with pedestrians and other unpredictable non-vehicular elements in the environment. There may be fewer auto accidents, but insurance companies and lawyers will doubtless still find a way to make money.

Delivery drones

Most people are familiar with drones from footage in the media, and low-end devices are now affordable enough for enthusiasts to get directly involved. Meanwhile, on the commercial side, logistics companies like Amazon ( Prime Air), DHL and UPS are investigating the use of drones for parcel distribution -- particularly 'last mile' deliveries in rural areas where conventional vans and trucks can struggle. Google's X 'moonshot factory' is also doing R&D on delivery drones under its Project Wing.

As far as public acceptance is concerned, the position on drone deliveries seems to be 'interested but wary'. An online survey conducted by the US Postal Service in June 2016 found that while three-quarters of the 1,465 respondents expected drone delivery by 2021, less than half (44%) liked the idea. Drone malfunction was the main concern (46%) with theft (16%) and intentional misuse (14%) much less serious worries. Speedy delivery was the main reason for interest in the technology, with emergency delivery also highly ranked. In the UK, the IMRG Consumer Home Delivery Review 2016 found that only a quarter of its 1,280 survey respondents (25.6%) would be prepared to have parcels delivered by drone -- up slightly from the previous year's survey (23.8%).

Image: NASA

Regulation will be a key factor in the future of delivery drones. In the US, this is the remit of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), whose strict Part 107 Rules allow a certified pilot to fly a single drone so long as the entire system weighs less than 55 pounds (25kg), the flight remains within line of sight of the operator and doesn't cross national or state borders. Other Part 107 restrictions are that drone flights must take place in daylight, remain in Class G (uncontrolled, low-altitude) airspace, cannot be operated from moving vehicle or pass over anyone not directly participating in the operation.

The FAA can provide waivers to these rules on application, and is in the process of amending and broadening them -- something that will be required for the sort of operations envisaged by Amazon and others. It's no coincidence that the first Prime Air demonstration was in the UK, where the regulations are somewhat less restrictive.

Meanwhile, NASA is developing an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management system, or UTM. This is essentially automated air traffic control for drones -- another key component of a commercial drone ecosystem.

Alternatively...

Regulatory issues surrounding delivery drones and larger CAVs have led Starship Technologies -- whose co-founders are Janus Friis and Ahti Heinla of Skype fame -- to take a more down-to-earth route: Starship's small six-wheeled self-driving robot can operate within a 3km (2-mile) radius, delivering goods such as parcels, groceries and food in 15-30 minutes.

By October last year Starship robots had clocked up 100,000km of driving, with pilot programs including a pizza delivery service in partnership with Domino's.

Flying taxis

A step up from the delivery drone is the two-seater Volocopter 2X, an 18-rotor VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft powered by nine high-capacity batteries that can be piloted or, in permissible areas, fly autonomously. The 290kg Volocopter 2X has a maximum payload of 160kg and a range of 27km (17mi) with a cruise speed of 70km/h (43mph); maximum flight time is 27 minutes at a cruise speed of 50km/h (31mph). Safety features include multiple redundancy in critical components such as propellers, motors, power source, electronics, flight control and displays -- plus an emergency parachute, although the manufacturer claims "you will never require it".

The first test flight for the Volocopter 'air taxi', which its German manufacturer sees as an on-demand smartphone-summoned service, took place last September in Dubai. At the event, Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter announced plans to launch the flying taxi service within five years.

In the US, Uber and NASA are collaborating on a VTOL taxi scheme called Uber Elevate, with demonstrations planned for 2020 and a service launched by 2023.

Hyperloop

Perhaps the most futuristic of all new transportation technologies is Hyperloop -- a combination of maglev train and (partial) vacuum tube capable of propelling 'capsules' or 'pods' of passengers and/or freight at velocities approaching the speed of sound.

Although based on pre-existing ideas, Hyperloop's recent visibility is down to super-entrepreneur Elon Musk, who released an open-source white paper entitled Hyperloop Alpha in 2013 outlining the technology and promoting its suitability for linking "high traffic city pairs that are less than about 1500 km or 900 miles apart." Beyond that inflection point, Musk argued, supersonic air travel should be cheaper and faster.

To date, tests of Hyperloop systems have reached 240mph (387km/h) -- about a third of the 760mph (1,200km/h) posited by Musk in his 2013 white paper.

Hyperloop may eventually get fully up to speed, but plenty of issues remain surrounding public acceptance, regulation and business viability.

In an online survey of 1,346 US adults conducted in February 2017, 17 percent of respondents said they would choose a one-time hyperloop trip over a one-time trip to space. That may have cheered the technology's proponents, but the survey also revealed that 43 percent doubted Hyperloop would be available in their lifetime. Were it up and running now, 37 percent said they would use it, with 8 percent refusing outright.

Building a Hyperloop system is major undertaking, whether the partial vacuum tube is located above or, more expensively, below ground. Typically, Elon Musk has founded his own tunnelling business, The Boring Company, among whose goals is to reduce the cost of tunnel construction -- which currently can be as much as $1 billion per mile.

Apart from construction cost, other questions hovering over Hyperloop include land acquisition and building/tunnelling rights, environmental impact, safety standards and security.

None of these potential obstacles have deterred several startups from seeking to advance and implement Hyperloop technology. Apart from Elon Musk's SpaceX/ Tesla, the frontrunner is Hyperloop One -- recently rebranded Virgin Hyperloop One following an (undisclosed) investment by Richard Branson's group.

Notable Hyperloop One milestones include: a Global Challenge, launched in May 2016, that identified 10 possible routes from a shortlist of 35; a test track -- DevLoop -- in Nevada, completed in March 2017; and the current Hyperloop speed record, set in December 2017 on the DevLoop. Although Virgin Hyperloop One says it is "working aggressively to meet a goal of having three production systems in service by 2021," anyone who has followed the tortuous progress of its Galactic stablemate may be forgiven for not holding their breath.

Other players in this nascent ecosystem include Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), Transpod and Arrivo.

Smart cities

Novel transport technologies that make it to the mainstream will operate in a smarter, more connected world. This will have profound implications for the way cities are designed (or redesigned) and managed, and will transform our experience of moving within and between them. But it's early days yet.

Smart cities, and in particular the place of autonomous vehicles within them, were the subject of an informative panel session at CES in January, where several industry experts offered insights on the current state of play. Here's a flavour of the discussion.

Mike Abelson, vice president, global strategy, at General Motors set the tone: "From our testing in San Francisco what we're learning right now is how the vehicles interact with the environment around them -- pedestrians, cyclists, all the other traffic. Experiments on how autonomous vehicles may enable us to significantly redesign and reimagine the city -- we haven't gotten to that stage yet. I think you've got to have a reasonably large fleet deployed and be working with the city on trying to run some experiments. We're looking forward to that interaction, because I think autonomous vehicles will have a significant and fundamental effect on how cities operate and how they're laid out physically."

For Erez Dragan, senior VP, advanced development & strategy, at Mobileye, mapping is a key factor: "A very critical enabler of autonomous driving is a dynamically updated map of the environment, and the way to do that with our technology is crowd-sourcing using single-camera, lower-autonomy vehicles."

Such projects clearly require a high level of connectivity, which was addressed by Nakul Duggal, vice president, product management at Qualcomm: "What we have started to focus on recently -- in the last 15 months or so -- is 'vehicle-to-x' [ V2x]. If you start to equip infrastructure in cities [with sensors] -- traffic lights, construction zones and so on -- it allows the car to essentially have a sensor that 'hears' exactly what the environment is looking like. As the city of the future starts to get modernised in terms of connectivity -- getting to 5G, getting to denser networks -- the transportation network needs to be more intelligent. As that network gets connected, with technology that can communicate to vehicles, you're going to be able to have local context. So an intersection should be able to indicate to cars what the average speed is at that point in time, for example."

Dynamic maps, sensor-equipped infrastructure and intelligent connectivity should enable more efficient routing and parking in smart cities. Along with ride-sharing schemes and electric vehicles, such developments could save time, free up land, and reduce pollution and congestion in tomorrow's cities.

Read more on Smart Cities

The wider economy

Although consumer aspects of new transport technology receive the most coverage, analyst firm Forrester is clear that it's the commercial world that will be disrupted first. In a July 2017 report entitled Autonomous Vehicles Will Reshape The Global Economy, six key areas are considered to be "poised for profound transformation": automotive, shipping and logistics, insurance, government, media, and data security and privacy.

"Before we even come close to seeing widespread consumer adoption," said Forrester, "shipping and logistics companies like Amazon, DHL, and UPS will pioneer the commercial use of autonomous vehicles. Practically every interview we conducted agreed: Shipping and logistics is where vehicle autonomy shows the most near-term potential."

New research by market intelligence firm Tractica supports this view, predicting that sales and revenue from autonomous trucks and buses will rise from just 343 and $84 million in 2017 to 188,000 and $35 billion in 2022:

"The potential for autonomous trucks and buses is huge and market growth is accelerating, with news of successful pilot projects coming at an increasing pace," said Tractica research analyst Manoj Sahi in a statement. "Considering the next 2 to 3 years as a make or break time, several prominent companies are prioritizing investment for large-scale development," he added.

Here's how Forrester sees the next decade or so unfolding:

Are we there yet?

Transportation is about to get a technology-driven reboot -- and not before time, considering the accident-prone, polluting, resource-guzzling and time-consuming nature of many of our current methods of moving people and things around.

Right now, many new transport technologies are being tried out, and many vested interests are jockeying for position in the developing ecosystem. The details are still taking shape, but future transportation systems will certainly be connected, data-driven and highly automated. As a result, for all their potential benefits, it will be vital to keep security and privacy issues front and centre as these systems develop. The journey from here to there promises to be a fascinating one.
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Tech and the future of transportation: From here to there | ZDNet

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Articles about technology and the future of transportation rarely used to get far without mentioning jet-packs: a staple of science fiction from the 1920s onwards, the jet pack became a reality in the 1960s in the shape of devices such as the Bell Rocket Belt.

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Just when you thought your commute was getting too routine.

Over the next decade, the idea of getting to work on time, heading out to the hinterlands for your family vacation or even going to the game will become much easier. Cars will drive themselves along pre-determined routes. Trains will use new magnetic rail systems. And an amazing new "hyperloop" train will speed along at 800 miles per hour.

The best part? These innovations are not just spinning their wheels. They are set to debut within the next 10 years or have already started transporting us.

"New technologies have the potential to make our roads and transit systems safer, greener and more efficient," Gregory Winfree, the administrator of the Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, told FoxNews.com. "We are working hard to ensure that these technologies can be integrated safely into our existing system."

"We will need to do something," said Thilo Koslowski, the lead automotive analyst at research firm Gartner, who studies next-generation transportation, "given that we will continue to see more vehicles on the road but won't be able to grow infrastructure at the same time. We have to get smarter about using that infrastructure and/or innovate in passenger vehicles and mobility."

1. Hyperloop

One of the most exciting innovations in transportation has to be the Hyperloop train. Rising on nearly airless tubes at 800 mph, the train will transport you from LA to San Francisco in just 30 minutes. Elon Musk announced a design scheme back in August, but FoxNews.com has learned the concept is more than a pipe dream -- it is now a real technology in development.

"We're moving toward conceptual design," said Dr. Patricia Galloway, the co-leader of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc., hinting at more than just a rough design sketch and an actual concept, something that is concrete and verifiable in the near future.

"On paper, hyperloop is both cheaper and quieter, and it is potentially much faster, than a maglev train," said Rob Enderle, an analyst with Enderle Group who studies Silicon Valley technology.

2. Maglev trains

"Magnetic levitation" trains are not just a lofty dream held over from the '50s. They are already in operation in Shanghai and Japan. South Korea is building a maglev train that will operate within the Incheon Airport, and China reportedly has a second maglev train in development.

A magnetic force lifts and propels the train using a minimal amount of energy compared to diesel-powered or electric-powered trains. The trains whisk passengers along at up to 310 miles per hour. A planned maglev train will transport passengers over 200 miles between Nagoya and Tokyo in just 40 minutes, helping to free congested roads, reduce air pollution, and reduce accidents.

Of course, the main issue with maglev trains is the high cost of development. Because of the fast speeds, the trains have to be routed directly between destinations, said Enderle.

3. Autonomous vehicles

A robotic driver can think faster and smarter than a human driver -- and look in all directions at once. That's the idea behind autonomous driving, where you take your hands off the wheel and let the car do the driving for you. Ford has already announced a project called Traffic Jam Assist and Cadillac is working on something called Super Cruise that lets the car take over.

Still, Google is leading the charge. It now uses a fleet of about 24 Lexus RX450h vehicles that have logged a total of about 500,000 miles on California roads. The cars can look for exit ramps, detect buildings, stop suddenly for other cars and change speeds as needed.

Enderle says there are many prototypes already on the road, especially those being tested by Google in San Francisco. Nevada has already created laws that make them legal to use in cities, including Las Vegas. In fact, Enderle says autonomous driving could appear within two years if it weren't for some nagging legal issues (such as how to insure them) and public safety concerns.

4. Smart cars

One way to solve transportation problems in major cities is to make the cars much smaller and smarter. So-called "smart cars" have been around for many years. But there are signs of progress. Many automakers, including BMW and Nissan. already offer compact electric cars. The BMW i3, already available in Europe, can brake automatically when you take your foot off the accelerator, consumes no gasoline and operates for 80-100 miles per charge.

"I do believe that there is a growing opportunity for new types of vehicles specifically designed for urban areas," Koslowski said, adding that these cars need more of a "wow" factor and will have to become part of an urban area's overall plan for better transportation in a city, not just showy small cars for individual drivers.

5. Urban transport pods

What if you could jump into a moving pod and speed away to another part of the city? That is what the Milton Keynes neighborhood about 45 miles northwest of London is planning. The pods seat one person and move on their own over a pre-described route.

The idea is that the human operator interacts with the pod using a touchscreen in the windshield. You swipe to select a destination, and you can read the daily news, check your e-mail or even play a video game during the trip. There will be a built-in wireless hotspot to connect your gadgets. The pod operates on its own, showing its current route.

(Similar pods are already being used in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi and at the London Heathrow airport, but both are used in tightly controlled areas.)

Jon Beasley, the program director at Transport Systems Catapult who is charged with developing the technology, told FoxNews.com the project is an "urban laboratory" where they can test not just the autonomous pods but also how they work in a real public setting.

"We want to gain familiarity with future transport solutions in one area, to make it easier for industrial collaborators to come together and work together," he says.

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Five future transportation technologies that will actually happen

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Cars that drive themselves along pre-determined routes. Trains that use new magnetic rail systems. An amazing new train will speed along at 800 miles per hour. And these future innovations are not just spinning their wheels. They are set to debut within the next ten years -- or have already started transporting us.