Investors to put staggering sums into Uber self-drive taxis – The Wall Street Journal
EDINBURGH — It's inevitable self-driving cars will take over the world's roads. Already, the newest car models have built into them aspects of self-drive. This was brought home to me when I traded in my petrol-guzzling two-cylinder classic Renault Clio for an electric BMW. My new car parallel parks itself at the touch of the P button, it warms itself up for me – engine, seats, windows and gets the temperature just right in the interior – if I instruct it to do so from my phone app at least half-an-hour before I'm ready to jump in. I talk to it to help me navigate and make calls to contacts on my list. The car doesn't wait for instructions to turn on headlights or wash rain from the windscreen; it just senses when it's necessary. It still feels a bit scary to sit back while a car manoeuvres itself into a bay, but I'm getting used to it – as will other drivers as the technology revolution overhauls transport. Getting in early on pioneering opportunities are Japanese multinational SoftBank and others that believe the self-drive taxi sector has huge money-making potential. – Jackie Cameron