''A fascinating hybrid. Part freewheeling history of the rise of the modern autonomous vehicle, part intimate memoir from an insider who was on the front lines for much of that history, Autonomy will more than bring readers up to speed on one of today''s most closely watched technologies'' Brian Merchant, author of The One Device From the ultimate insider - a former General Motors executive and current advisor to the Google Self-Driving Car project - comes the definitive story of the race between Google, Tesla and Uber to create the driverless car. We stand on the brink of a technological revolution. In the near future, most of us will not own automobiles, but will travel instead in driverless electric vehicles summoned at the touch of an app. We will be liberated from driving, so that the time we spend in cars can be put to more productive use. We will prevent more than 90 percent of car crashes, provide freedom of mobility to the elderly and disabled and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. Autonomy tells the story of the maverick engineers and computer experts who triggered the revolution. Lawrence Burns - long-time adviser to the Google self-driving car project (now Waymo) and former corporate vice president of research, development and planning at General Motors - provides the perfectly timed history of how we arrived at this point, in a character-driven and vivid account of the unlikely thinkers who accomplished what billion-dollar automakers never dared. Beginning at a 2004 off-road robot race across the Mojave Desert with a million-dollar purse and continuing up to the current stampede to develop driverless technology, Autonomy is a page-turning chronicle of the past, a diagnosis of the present and a prediction of the future - the ultimate guide to understanding the driverless car and to navigating the revolution it has sparked.
Foreword by Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button. From the magazine synonymous with style comes the ultimate guide to the greatest cars the world has ever seen. With imagery from the world's greatest car photographers, plus British GQ 's knowledgeable in-depth reports, the cars in this book represent the pinnacle of driving style and performance. From classics of the 1950s to the very latest machines, featuring sultry Italian supercars, classic British engineering, pure American muscle and much more besides, GQ Drives is an indispensable handbook of automotive excellence.
The longest ship ever built, the heaviest digger and the largest aeroplane, the world's first working motorcar, and its most expensive one. What machines like these have in common is that they all say a lot about the inventiveness and imagination of the people who conceived and created them. Some of them are useful, others are just a bit of fun, but the best ones are truly magnificent, and fascinating to discover. Designed to drive faster, fly higher, carry more cargo or - in the case of space rockets - travel hundreds of thousands of miles to places no-one has ever been before, not every idea has worked but the best have been inspired and inspirational, and in a few cases they have gone on to change the world. It is the human stories and atmospheric art that make this a book to actually read and delight in.
A lavishly illustrated account of human travel with a foreword by Simon Reeve, from the voyages of the Vikings to the flight to the Moon.
Journeys have arisen from all manner of impulse, from migration and the search for food, to pilgrimages, trade, scientific curiosity, or simply the quest for adventure. Journey is a stunning visual guide to the stories of human movement and endeavour, from The Silk Road to the epic Voyager missions.
Discover ancient maps, biographies of conquerors, explorers, and travellers, stories of scientific discovery and technological innovation, stunning works of art, and catalogues of travel-related memorabilia.
This truly worldwide account is a glorious celebration of human journeys, and will make an impressive gift for any lover of travel and history.