Interesting RNS this morning
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āOmniVision develops and delivers advanced imaging solutions to a variety of industrial and consumer markets.ā Such as?
As mentioned above, the development of elf driving tech makes the current use case for SEE almost redundant. However, if there are other ways in which the technology could be used in human-machine interactions then great.
I think weāre still a long way away from truly self-driving vehicles which donāt need human interaction. Thatās why I think for the medium to long term Seeing Machines is a great company to help aim this transition
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Iām of the view that self-driving cars are still a long way off for the mass market
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I was watching this company but decided not to buy. I think that a selfdrive system should be limited to specific roads. For example: on highways, your car gets taken over by the system. That way, all cars have a regular speed and can move better. On smaller roads, the driver would take over again. An easier wy would be getting everybody on public transport rather than individual metal boxes.
Good points, but i do rather like my individual metal box, manual, and fossil fuel powered. The first two are non negotiable, but iād be happy to use battery power. Maybe itās people like me that will be using the tech for many years to come then?
Can you get an electric car that isnāt an automatic?
Ha ha, I donāt know for sure, but iāve never liked automatic cars! Perhaps Iāll have to retrofit my S-Max. 
Leccy cars are neither manual nor automatic, with a few exceptions, they just stay in the same single gear all the time but the torque is always there on demand at any speed. I enjoy manual gearboxes but Iām sure Iām going to enjoy electric cars even moreā¦ if only prices in the 2nd hand market would start falling!
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Until there is a public transport utopia, automobiles will be a necessity.
I donāt see people outside of cities (where public transport isnāt great) hailing a self-driving vehicle to pick them up, and take them to their workplace during rush-hour. There will either need to be an excess number of self-driving cars sat waiting for the peak demand, then under-utilised the rest of the day (not a good business model). Or not enough supply. So for reliability people will continue to have their own car sat on their driveway.
For parents with children requiring car sets. Do I have to supply my own when I hail a robo-taxi? And then remove at either end. Will they be in the car already in the boot? No chance iām faffing about installing them each time while dealing with a screaming child running about in the pouring rain.
Self-driving cars may eventually replace private hire cabs and taxis in my opinion, and certain delivery routes. And thatās about it. I donāt think these will be L5. But theyāll then be limited to geofenced areas and weather conditions.
Some of the self-driving tech will make itās way into the mass-market vehicles as premium features to give hands-free driving in certain situations. And in those situations ensuring the safety of the hand-over from car ā driver is very important. Not to mention the safety when the human is driving.
Iām just old enough to remember the stories of the promised flying car everyone would have by nowā¦
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Theyāre continuous variable transmission, which is a form of automatic. Instead of having 4-10 discrete gear ratios they can adjust to any ratio along a spectrum so theyāre much more efficient. Iāve been driving CVT petrol cars for 7 years now and have no desire to go back to a manual gearbox.
This is effectively the way private hire cars run now. The drivers own their own car and work during the peak hours. Self driving taxis could work in a similar way where they are leased to a private individual for use outside peak hours but then are used as taxis when demand kicks in. Depending on whether the car is owned or leased, the individual will either get a cheaper lease or will earn a commission.
I think people will still own or lease self driving cars so things wonāt change that much. The difference is instead of struggling to find a parking space in a busy city the car can drop you off and return home.
Theyāre still being promised but the narrative seems to have changed to flying taxis.
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Is this definitley correct?
I understood some of your post but wanted to know more - Iām not mechcanilly minded at all. I always want to know more mainly so that local garages donāt take me for a ride! I did some searching online but what Iāve read suggests that, Teslas at least, donāt use CVT.
Again, I could be totally wrong - Iām just tryng to learn, not eviscerate your post.
Honestly, not entirely sure. Bosch announced a CVT specifically for electric vehicles just last month so it must still be in use, but the latest VW e-Gold and Chevy Bolt are both 1-speed.
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With a little more searching, I think you were right. Most or all current electric cars are 1-speed but it looks like thereās still R&D going into CVT technology to improve the range of electric cars.
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EVs are generally one speed. The Porsche Taycan is two speed on the rear axle. Rather than saying automatic or manual, itās computer controlled and generally there is one differential, from the motor to the axle unless for performance reasons such as the pancake motor assembly on racing models.
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But wonāt most people be using their car themselves during peak times, to commute to work? It therefore wonāt be available to hire out when there is the most demand. And so the vast majority of vehicles will be sat idle in a car park, just like today.
I donāt live in a city. So never really experienced this problem on such a regular basis that the solution is my car needs to drive home, even in a town. Maybe when Iām on holiday, with lots of other holiday makers, which if my car then drove home isnāt a solution. Even just driving around using fuel isnāt a solution. Iāll need that. A few minutes driving around and a space usually appears.
Strong movement today. Up 6.7% to 7.9p without any news (that Iām aware ofā¦)
Another crazy today! Without any news too, somethingās brewing 
The only thing I can see:
I can only see it rising!
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