robots in disguise!

The RobuCab, an autonomous vehicle about the size of a golf cart, trundles at 10kph along a quiet French street. Alarmingly, it looks like it is driving itself.

Taxi business is rapidly changing, with the Ford Crown Victoria set to take a permanent buyout, hybrids ready to invade Manhattan by 2012, and now robuCab. The driver-free robuCab was developed in France by Robosoft, and the technology is limited for now. It's a 4WD electric vehicle relying on a camera that reads a nearby curb and sensors reading both the curb angle and devices planted in the ground.

French company Robosoft has developed a rather frightening driverless cab, whose goal seems to be to revolutionize the commercial transportation business. The self-motivated cab is a four-wheel-drive electric vehicle, which uses a series of cameras and sensors to monitor the street curb angle. The robot is then able to follow the curb and theoretically deliver passengers safely to whichever destination they choose. We’re not sure if they accept tips or not.

The slow-moving robuCab prototypes can carry four passengers. The robuCab prototypes seat four-passengers and are said to be rather slow-moving. They also seem to have a limited amount of cargo capacity for things like luggage, which would seem to be an immediate drawback in terms of taxi service. While having a personalized automated system could eventually lead to some positive results in areas like airport terminals and large parking areas, don’t envision the robuCab putting many taxi drivers out of work soon.