ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK: Self-driving cars already doing their thing in SA
Like the smartphone, the car must become more intelligent, convenient and supportive of our lives
It's the biggest smartphone charger I've ever used. It's called the Audi A5 coupe, and, to most people, it looks like a mere two-door car. But it has one feature I hadn't seen before in a car: a plug-free pad for charging phones that use the Qi wireless charging standard. These include the Samsung Galaxy S6, S7 and S8 models. In truth, it's not a big deal, and will soon be standard. But it symbolises the extent to which the automotive industry is waking up to a future that has already arrived. This is a time in which the ordering of our lives revolves around hand-held devices, and cars must adapt to these devices. Like the smartphone, the car must become more intelligent, convenient and supportive of our lives. For this reason, the autonomous vehicle, or self-driving car, is not only a good idea, but an essential one. Cars of the near future must get us where we want to go, and not get in our way. It is a standard argument to say that self-driving cars can't work in a country like S...
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