Help design the future of robotic cars

Ford.com

A screenshot from a Ford video shows how Active Park Assist works in the Flex model. Drivers just need to target a spot, and the car uses ultrasonic range finders to park itself.

By John Roach

Do you want a future where C-3P0 and his robotic pals do the driving as you text your friends the 411 on the next stop in a crosstown pub crawl? Minds capable of making this dream come true want your opinion.

Students with Stanford University's Center for Automotive Research have prepared?on online survey?to find out your robotic car desires. After providing a few generic personal details, you can weigh in on questions such as:

• How much control you're willing to give up to an automated self-driving technology? All? Some, like an airplane pilot? None at all?
• Would you take a cab driven by a robot? Choices range from "Definitely not" to "Definitely would. There is no way a computer can drive worse than current human cab drivers :)".
• What are your feelings about a car that could drive you without any input? Choices include: "Excitement ? where can I get one," "Party time ? I can go out partying without having to worry about drinking and driving," and "Fear ? That's it. Run for the hills. The robots are taking over."

To take the survey, click here. When the results are out this spring, we'll share the details.

More on robotic cars:

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John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. You can also follow him on Twitter.

For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Ten years of war have given robot developers a chance to refine and improve their bots. Now the robots are finding all sorts of new jobs on the homefront.

Source: http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/10/10375582-help-design-the-future-of-robotic-cars

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