Is This Ride-Sharing Smart Minivan The Future Of Self-Driving Cars?

Is This Ride-Sharing Smart Minivan The Future Of Self-Driving Cars?

Autonomous vehicles are likely going to have to do more than just drive themselves: They’re also going to have to organise carpools. GM’s EN-V was cute and all , but this Akka Link & Go 2.0 is more like a tiny bus — which is a much more reasonable proposition for a self-driving, car-sharing fleet.

Released this week at the Geneva International Motor Show, the Akka Link & Go 2.0 is an autonomous car that’s designed to be social.

Is This Ride-Sharing Smart Minivan The Future Of Self-Driving Cars?

It has all the technology that allows it to drive unaided by humans — cameras, lasers — and it can transform from human-driving to computer-driving mode by retracting the steering wheel and pivoting the drivers seat around to face the back. There’s also a large screen there for watching cinematic gems like Escape from Planet Earth.

Is This Ride-Sharing Smart Minivan The Future Of Self-Driving Cars?

But this is the interesting part: The Link & Go 2.0 has an integrated system which connects multiple passengers over a network to help with carpooling and car-sharing.

Is This Ride-Sharing Smart Minivan The Future Of Self-Driving Cars?

So maybe before your city deploys its own self-driving taxi fleet, you can start your own private car-share with you and a few neighbours. Or how about opening up the car to your entire social network, and you can rideshare with them? Instead of ordering up Uber, you’d be able to find out which of your friends are nearest to you, and ping them to pick you up. [AKKA]


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