Google Cars

Zipcars have become a popular method of rental car transportation in a number of cities in the world. These cars are rented by the hour; customers pick them up at specific parking locations and return them to the same or other parking locations for a specific hourly fee based on each use. Zipcars are a transportation service that allows city dwellers to use cars without owning them in a way similar to cloud storage – the customer gets the service, in this case transportation, without the headache that comes with the hardware. Visit www.zipcar.com to better understand the service and see where they are available. Another interesting transportation approach is being hatched by Google. Recently state legislatures in Nevada and California approved the operation of driverless cars on public roads. Google, as well as Toyota, has developed driverless cars that have already safely been driven hundreds of thousands of miles. The cars are able to determine the speed limit based on data stored on Google Maps and acquire data on road objects and other cars with a series of onboard sensors. The specially outfitted Google vehicles avoid other traffic using a system of radar sensors and video cameras and use artificial intelligence algorithms to steer. Currently, the cars operate with a safety observer aboard the car to step on a brake or turn the wheel if necessary. To see more current news about the cars, search online for Google car or Google driverless car. Google has announced that the goals of this program are to improve driving safety, use fuel more efficiently, and enable more productive commutes. But there are also side benefits. For example, the cars park themselves after dropping off passengers if they are not needed immediately, or pick up another passenger so there is reduced need for parking lots. While it may be interesting to contemplate owning such a car, Google may be planning something beyond just private ownership for these vehicles. One target may be to equip a town with enough cars to act as public transportation, a pooled transpotation system that, like Zipcars, are rented for short intervals. Currently, the first step of the public transportation process is for the passenger to go meet a bus or vehicle at a common location. With a driverless car, the process changes; the transportation vehicle can come to the passenger. This meeting activity is simple enough to coordinate with a smartphone, a transportation subscriber would only need to say a few words or press a few buttons to summon a vehicle. Driverless cars may turn out to be a very interesting event. As an information system, driverless cars can improve the transportation process in significant and unexpected ways by automating the driving activity.  

1. Diagram the process of using Google driverless cars as a pooled transportation system. Specify actors, activities, and the smartphone IS.

2. What are the benefits of driverless cars as public pooled transportation for consumers? For Cities? For Google?

3. A. What are the problems with the exising process and how does this proposal improve the transportation process? B. Identify 3 metrics that could be used to determine the impact of the new process on transportation efficiency.

4. What other processes may be improved with driverless cars?

5. In the area of Information systems, there are 5 areas – hardware, software, data, procedures, and people. How can these components be applied to the concept of a Google Car (identify components in each of the 5 areas that relate to the Google Car).