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NEWS
Driverless motorhomes coming
Chinese-built driverless motorhomes that self-park in popular tourist spots are heading down underWARNING: APRIL FOOLS JOKE!
Autonomous, driverless motor homes that can be pre-programmed to visit popular tourist destinations, will remain on the correct side of the road and will give following motorists ample warning before stopping for photo opportunities are being developed in China especially for the rapidly expanding Australian tourist market.
Based in Wan King province, the project is understood to be funded jointly by Australian and Chinese tourist authorities, with the aim of having the first vehicles delivered to major Australian rental fleets by early next year.
The GPS-guided motor homes will tap into the technology being developed for autonomous cars, including sophisticated lane guidance and vehicle spacing, but adapted to hit prime tourist targets.
Caravancampingsales understands that major tourist destinations are being approached to co-fund the project and to ensure they're on the travel ‘menu’ of the vehicles.
This could see sensors embedded at major tourist sights such as at Uluru and at key points in the Blue Mountains and on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.
These will not only guide the driverless motorhomes to safe parking and overnight camping places, but will also allow the occupants to receive detailed information on the areas visited through the vehicle’s infotainment system.
Major caravan parks and fast food chains are also being approached with offers of exclusive access to the autonomous system, although modifications to existing ‘Drive-thru’ services areas may have to be made.
The project’s Australia co-ordinator, Paul Dudderwon, said the burgeoning Chinese middle class, the desire of more Asians to visit Australia and the development of driverless vehicles and their associated infrastructure had created the “ideal environment” for the project’s development.
Work to adapt existing Chinese-built mini-buses into autonomous motorhomes was well advanced and prototypes would soon be sent down under.
He said Australian rental cars fitted with GPS tracking technology had been monitored by his parent company for some time to determine the places that Chinese tourists most liked to visit and their favourite stops along the way.
A major advantage of the autonomous motorhomes would be the interior cabin space that would be liberated because no driver would be needed.
“Renters will simply be able to sit in the vehicle’s lounge, pre-set the destinations they would like to visit on their smartphone or tablet and their RV will take them there while they enjoy a cup of tea and watch the scenery on large screen monitors,” he said.
“What they see will be captured in high definition by a series of cameras and this will be able to be downloaded from the cloud and viewed by family and friends once they return home.
“We are also looking at incorporating the latest CGI ‘Blue Screen’ technology that will enable ‘selfies’ to be taken right in front of culturally-sensitive sites without creating offence.
“Most importantly, they will travel free of flies, sunburn and all of the other stresses associated with tourism in a foreign country.”
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Written byCaravancampingsales Staff
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