So maybe the idea of driverless cars will start very small.
Like using a smartwatch app to start the car, open the garage door and have the car drive itself out of the garage to meet you.
Then you get in and take over the driving function.
That’s essentially what a new widely reported feature in the new Remote S for Tesla app does from an Apple Watch.
The idea of driverless cars is somewhat controversial, with many
complex facets, as we wrote about here last week (Driverless Car? Forget About It.
Porsche Says Keep That iPhone In Your Pocket).
Whether marketers love or hate the idea of autonomous driving, there are some very strong feelings on both sides, as we heard from many of
you (Driverless Cars? ‘You’ll Have To Pry The Steering Wheel Out Of My
Cold Dead Hands).
But in the case of the Tesla car summon feature, the car doesn’t actually go very far, at least in this case.
The first phase of remote car operation was to
allow remote communication with the vehicle, for such activities as heating or cooling the car before arriving, flashing lights or sounding a horn when parked or unlocking or locking doors from afar.
The vehicle summoning feature was just recently added and demonstrated via smartwatch.
Anyone who watched Super Bowl commercials knows that the ability for a car to automatically stop when a
pedestrian crosses is already here. That feature is a basic cost-of-entry to any autonomous driving venture.
But summoning a car over short distances may be where the behavioral aspects
develop.
The summon feature’s initial focus was to let the car enter and exit tight spaces autonomously.
But the end result is that the consumer gets to stand and watch how a car
can drive itself, presumably without any issues.