Should Google buy Lit Motors?
The 2004 GhostRider
Google has asked the California Department of Motor Vehicles for the authorization to test self-driven motorcycles on public roads. Which got us thinking about the ultimate pizza-delivery vehicle…
Google does already test self-driven cars on Californian roads, and carmakers like Nissan, Daimler and Renault have also been testing such vehicles. Even self-driven two-wheelers have been seen before: in 2004, at the DARPA Grand Challenge, a team from Berkeley University demonstrated the GhostRider. One of the original engineer, Anthony Levandowski, works now for Google. As you can see in the video, it was a very crude project, with a 90-cc gas engine and without spinning gyros for stabilization.
Which got us thinking. Why doesn’t Google put Lit Motors out of its misery and take over the company, and combine the C-1 technology with its self-driving technology? And thus create an electric self-balancing and self-driven two-wheeler.
The Lit C-1
Imagine such a Lit C-1 as an automated urban delivery vehicle. You order a pizza, and the Lit C-1 brings it to your house, dialing your phone when it arrives and giving you the code to open its trunk so you can take your pizza. Or a new ultra-fast personal delivery service run by Uber. Without mentioning all the military applications possible for such a vehicle…
Google, are you listening?
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Very interesting post! I think I will present the video on my blog about robotic
This kind of autonomous 2-wheels can have a lot of applications… the Uber-like service is one of the most probable!
An aerial vehicle is a much better proposition
Yes a drone could be a better solution for pizza deliveries.