Ghost Road: Beyond the Driverless Car

by Anthony M. Townsend Narrated by Peter Lerman

Overview

A penetrating look at near-future disruption as truly autonomous vehicles arrive.



For decades we have dreamed of building an automobile that can drive itself. But as that dream of autonomy draws close, we are discovering that the driverless car is a red herring. When self-driving technology infects buses, bikes, delivery vans, and even buildings . . . a wild, woollier, future awaits.



Technology will transform life behind the wheel into a high-def video game that makes our ride safer, smoother, and more efficient. Meanwhile, autonomous vehicles will turbocharge our appetite for the instant delivery of goods, making the future as much about moving things as it is about moving people. Giant corporations will link the automated machines that move us to the cloud, raising concerns about mobility monopolies and privatization of streets and sidewalks. The pace of our daily lives and the fabric of our cities and towns will change dramatically as automated vehicles reprogram the way we work, shop, and play.



Ghost Road is both a beacon and a warning; it explains where we might be headed together in driverless vehicles, and the choices we must make as societies and individuals to shape that future.

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2020-04-08
A deep dive into “the driverless revolution to come.”

Townsend, president of urban forecasting initiative Star City Group, focuses on the seamless integration of automated vehicles (AV) into a society that he feels is ready for them. However, he also evenhandedly addresses the pitfalls. The text features an erudite analysis of the AV industry’s social and financial benefits and the finer points where the industry has already fallen short of expectations, and the author engagingly explores the facts behind the hype and weighs opinions from both sides of the spectrum. Townsend splits the narrative into three relevant “stories,” examining the specialization, the materialization, and the financialization of the driverless revolution, touting its benefits and debunking common myths about its future. In the first section, the author explores the transformative advancements in AV history and the “species” of innovations, and he enthusiastically promotes the eventualities of the “taxibot takeover” and the “push-button supercommute.” One of the areas to be affected most will be taxis. “Most market analysts agree,” writes the author, “that all taxis in the industrialized nations will be automated by 2030.” Then Townsend moves on to scrutinizes the steep demand of deliverables facing the e-commerce industry and the ways automation and “robofreight” could simplify these processes. Finally, Townsend warns of a potential regulatory crisis as corporations begin jockeying for power when lucrative autonomous markets proliferate. This convincing and balanced report also contains six “big mobility” codes of conduct, which will allow readers to apply specialized rules to personally maximize the autonomous experience. A natural follow-up to Townsend’s Smart Cities (2013), this well-researched, smoothly written book will appeal most to urban planners and those in the AV and related industries. Still, general readers will appreciate the author’s optimistic yet cautionary assessment of a technology that remains as elusive and unpredictable as it is awe-inspiring.

An astute and cautiously encouraging overview of the driverless technology revolution. (17 illustrations)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172709388
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	08/11/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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