I experienced a small glimpse into the world of the Knight Rider the other week.
Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2023 3:36 am
Had an actual reason to rent a modern vehicle the other week. It was an upgrade to what I was expecting. And that included hands free driving.
Got to say that it is a strange, even fearful experience to just release the wheel and watch the vehicle drive itself around curves and handle other cars by itself. Not quite a Tesla. Not to say that my hands were more than a couple inches away from the wheel at any point. Still a thrill to see this collection of sensors and programming handling the road better than I was, at times. Still... I let it tackle the gentle curves and held no trust in anything sharp. Let it tackle a better part of the California freeway system. And it performed beautifully.
There was another feature from Knight Rider that may be easily forgotten about. The thing had keyless engine start AND keyless entry. Which was a bit of a head scratcher when I stopped at the Hotel and tried to secure the ride. Kept doing the remote lock bit and then trying the door handle... only to find it opening right up. I still don't know if it was registering the remote device, reading fingerprints and/or face recognition. Still amazing that KR foresaw that feature over forty years ago.
Makes me wonder just how soon some of that ChatGPT will be installed. Conversation for those long road trips without having to actually drive.
Got to say that it is a strange, even fearful experience to just release the wheel and watch the vehicle drive itself around curves and handle other cars by itself. Not quite a Tesla. Not to say that my hands were more than a couple inches away from the wheel at any point. Still a thrill to see this collection of sensors and programming handling the road better than I was, at times. Still... I let it tackle the gentle curves and held no trust in anything sharp. Let it tackle a better part of the California freeway system. And it performed beautifully.
There was another feature from Knight Rider that may be easily forgotten about. The thing had keyless engine start AND keyless entry. Which was a bit of a head scratcher when I stopped at the Hotel and tried to secure the ride. Kept doing the remote lock bit and then trying the door handle... only to find it opening right up. I still don't know if it was registering the remote device, reading fingerprints and/or face recognition. Still amazing that KR foresaw that feature over forty years ago.
Makes me wonder just how soon some of that ChatGPT will be installed. Conversation for those long road trips without having to actually drive.