The future doesn’t make sense without autonomous driving

21

September

2020

Autonomous driving is what we need.

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1 to 1.5 hours per day. That is what the average Dutch working citizen spends on commuting. Of a standard working day (8 hours), that is a near 19% addition to the time spent on work. Why are we still stuck in this 20th-century loss of efficiency?

The alternative is already here, and it is far more superior than any other solution yet conceived. Just imagine: a quiet, private space, that brings you anywhere you want, without any distractions. Fully customizable, according to your wishes? You want a 55” flat screen in there? Go ahead. 7.1 Surround system with lounging chair and turntable? Comfortable bed, couch, video conferencing tools, workstation, bath? All feasible. Improving your efficiency by 19% because you can work while commuting? Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

Guess what, the technology is already here. Autonomous driving is widely present and extensively researched by major car and tech companies. The advantages are clear: we do not need to focus on driving, so we have time for other activities, among which is working of course. You can get extra sleep so you are more focused at work, or more relaxed when you return home. But also the amount of traffic jams and accidents will decrease. 

There are two things preventing us from being in the future, however. Governmental regulations and infrastructure. Autonomous driving will be a lot safer and quicker implemented when the roads, crossings, cameras and other infrastructure can communicate with the cars. The Internet of Things will aid this development, soon. Governments are careful with implementing laws that allow for a novelty like this, because the current technology is not yet fully operational with other, non-autonomous cars. One solution for this would be to exponentially increase the amount of cars with autonomous driving technology on the road. 

It is like group immunity. The more people have it, the safer the entire community will be.

Society is waiting for you, autonomous driving, please hurry. We need you, and we know it.  

 

Ps. if you are one of those people that does their make-up, reads a newspaper, watches Netflix, listens to music, shaves, talks, calls, eats, works or sleeps in their car: you are living in the future. It is just not legal yet.

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Super-bundling – is it coming?

21

September

2020

Are super-bundling services feasible and will they exist in the future? It is unlikely, but the demand is there.

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237 US Dollars. That is what an average US citizen pays for all their subscriptions. Per month. For entertainment, they have 12 subscriptions on average, of which 3.4 are for video entertainment (amounting to 29 US Dollars per month). 

We are all too familiar with the struggle: we receive word of an awesome new movie or TV series, and when asked where we can see it, it turns out to be shown only on a platform to which we haven’t subscribed yet. The willingness to see it is there, but the willingness to subscribe to yet another platform is not. This could be perceived as customer rent for the producers/distributors, because they miss out on additional income. 

The choice is no longer which movie to watch, but rather to which streaming service to subscribe to, that most appropriately fits with your general preferences. The only issue is that these services are not genre-based, they are all universal streaming services, with content that pleases everyone. The only solution is to subscribe to all. 

The reasonable question then rises: why is there no ‘super-bundling’ service yet? The internet is filled with questions regarding a super-bundling service, that combines all the streaming services into one platform. Although some (illegal) services do exist, not one major party has stepped up yet to realize this. The streaming services are getting more and more consolidated, however, with remaining parties such as Apple TV+, Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, etc. The main issue with more consolidation will be regarding fairness of competition (monopolies), copyright issues, and giving up power (who will buy who?)

Will the future allow for one party to control all these streaming services? Will the streaming industry consolidate and be dominated by one monopoly player that bundles all the services together? Or will they work together in a consortium that has the goal of satisfying customers’ needs? And in case a super-bundling service rises, will it include other media, such as music streaming, newspapers and business articles, or even groceries?

 

Do you think a super-bundling service is feasible? Let your voice be heard in the comments!

 

 

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