Hello, my name is Eric Bergerson and I’m an industrial designer with an additional background in physics. I work as a consultant in the autonomous vehicle industry and I’m very interested in what’s going to happen when Uber, Lyft and their competitors in America and abroad start using cost effective autonomous vehicles. For a quick overview of these ideas and how this phenomenon will end up electrifying America’s automobile fleet, see my introductory post.
Today I want to comment on a video I was recently viewing that features Bob Poole, the Searle Freedom Trust Transportation Fellow and Director of Transportation Policy at the Reason Foundation. Mr. Poole is fairly skeptical of the timeframe that’s going to be required to overcome the challenges of navigating an autonomous vehicle on crowded surface streets in a busy urban environment. He rightly points out that operating in that environment is an order of magnitude or two more difficult than navigating an autonomous vehicle on a freeway. Time will tell if his skepticism about the timing is warranted. Here’s the six and a half minute long interview.

