Passport’s Picks of the Week
The tech world is pushing boundaries on the daily. This week, Passport has chosen a few articles that touch on futuristic subway systems, morality and autonomous cars, as well as how exactly is the MTA going to completely waterproof the New York City subway system.
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You have no idea how hard it is to waterproof NYC’s subway
Add a Lifeproof case on your iPhone and voila, waterproof. Throw on a poncho before you head to a rainy football game and you’re waterproof. Waterproofing the New York City subway? Not as easy. When Hurricane Sandy hit, water poured down the subway entrances, manholes, and more. There were billions of dollars worth of damages to the subway system. The Metropolitan Transit System has been spending over $4 billion from federal disaster funds to help fix the subway system. Two of the tunnels have been fixed, three are underway, and yet there is still a ton to be fixed. The MTA even announced that in 2019, the L train will be shutdown for 18 months while they fix the damages.
What are the effects of eliminating parking spaces?
The elimination of parking spaces is a thing. Typically, for every person there’s one parking space, however, the requirements are changing. Now many developers are not building as many parking lots or garages in lieu of offering alternative transit choices. Many apartment complexes are offering free alternative transit options instead of the standard parking spot. Cities and transit agencies are benefiting from the decrease in traffic congestion, and the increase in transit ridership.
Morality and autonomous cars: How will they really be handled?
Your brakes go out. Swerve to avoid two people crossing on a green light or hit a barricade and kill your two passengers? These are the types of questions that autonomous cars are going to have to answer. The issue of what’s moral and what’s immoral is something that we, as humans, deal with everyday. However, for self-driving vehicles – it’s a whole different game. To bring the issues to life, autonomous vehicles are being simulated in the mit media lab Moral Machine. The real question that poses a serious issue is are in fact, robots ready for these types of decisions? It’s a question that’s being brought to the table as more robots and machines are replacing human jobs, processes, tasks, and more.
Hyperloop One’s futuristic transportation system
Getting from point A to point B at 750 mph? Hyperloop One’s futuristic transportation system is attempting to make it possible. With $80 million Series B funding, the startup company started testing out its system in Nevada this past spring. But exactly how close are we from this concept to being a reality? Find out in the above video!
