A driverless car still has to obey the laws of physics - it has to be aerodynamic. Sure, the interior of the car will change, but compare with other modes of transport that you can be on without driving: fights, trains, busses, even being a passenger in a car. I don't think it's a coincidence that in all of them, you're sitting or lying still in varying degrees of comfort, while working and/or being entertained.
Also, there an elephant in the room: The RV. It's great for road-trip holidaying, but not practical for living. I don't see how driver-less-ness changes that value-proposition drastically - although a road trip holiday with most of the driving done at night, while you're sleeping, could be awesome.
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A driverless car still has to obey the laws of physics - it has to be aerodynamic. Sure, the interior of the car will change, but compare with other modes of transport that you can be on without driving: fights, trains, busses, even being a passenger in a car. I don't think it's a coincidence that in all of them, you're sitting or lying still in varying degrees of comfort, while working and/or being entertained.
Also, there an elephant in the room: The RV. It's great for road-trip holidaying, but not practical for living. I don't see how driver-less-ness changes that value-proposition drastically - although a road trip holiday with most of the driving done at night, while you're sleeping, could be awesome.
The next article mentions aerodynamics - shear force drag, pressure drag - as well as something called vactrains which may get us going really fast.
Thanks for discussing, everyone.