Tag: google

Will the dream of self driving cars be replaced by flying cars?

Untitled drawing (6)Have you seen the new commercial where the car drives itself? It’s so exciting to see the future unfold. I remember watching George Jetson fly around in his car thinking “that’s what my future is going to look like”, but as time ticks on, my future seems to look more like the matrix (or some other post apocalyptic movie) than the cartoon of my childhood past.

Untitled drawing (9)While I don’t see myself becoming a car battery in the distant future, I do think that things won’t be the way I always thought they would. Now keep in mind I am presenting you with my wild speculation, but hear me out. Self driving cars have much anticipation and analysts think that within a decade our economy will be hit hard by self driving automation, but I’m not seeing it come from automobiles.

Untitled drawing (10)Already we’re seeing homeowners insurance being reduced because of automation and the LA Times has mentioned that self driving cars could flip the auto insurance industry on its head. But that’s not all automation is doing. It’s also giving us software to help on a global scale. A farmer can deploy a drone that will fly over an area miles wide, run the images through an algorithm, and tell the farmer what course of action he must take. Throw that software into a network of drones like they did in the 2017 Super Bowl halftime show, and the sky is the limit!Untitled drawing (2)

Amazon has already invested in infrastructure for an air delivery system, including airplanes and even a company to develop their drone delivery service. In addition their ambitious projects are helping to develop regulation that will likely evolve and reshape the aviation industry.

Untitled drawing (5)Right now the closest I can get to my dream of flying around the skies like George Jetson is to jump in a helicopter and fly around, but such a dream would be too costly for the average person to achieve. Although they are coming out with automated systems for Helicopters, insurance prices are too high for the technology to make an impact on the aviation industry to favor the consumer. Also, we are a long way off before drones can carry people off into the sunset, but that’s not stopping companies like Ehang from trying.

Untitled drawing (4)Now back to my wild speculation. Automated driving systems will make a big impact on our economy and our future, but they will only last a short time. It will be like that 5 minutes you had a pager, and then the cell phone came out.  When the line between helicopter and drone disappears, and insurance prices fall (which is a major reason for high aviation costs),we will see prices in aviation fall. Finaly we will see insurance liabilities transfer from the driver or pilot to the automated network provider. We will see the flying car become a reality.

Untitled drawing (1)So. Is it a far-fetched childhood dream to have a flying car? No. I may even see it in my lifetime.

-Brandon

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Modern day Trading and Bartering

The term trading and bartering seems ancient. One might think of cavemen trading shells or Indians trading beaded jewelry but what some people don’t realize is that it’s very common today even with the biggest corporations.  Take Facebook and Google for exFAcebook Dataample. They offer what seems to be a free service, but actually they are just trading that service for information.

The idea is to create value for somebody else through a service or product. Then that value is traded for other value from another party. Through this basic concept of exchanges in the market, economies will thrive. In fact I have traded a service in this very blog post. In exchange for coverage of my blog I have promised another I would mention him in one of my blogs. I can’t think of a better blog post to mention him in then the one I could use him as an example.  (Thanks Tim it’s nice to work with like-minded people)Bartering

I met Tim through a bartering service called Simbi. Simbi is a place where you can trade a product or service for another product or service. They also have their own credit system they use Called Simbi’s. The information on my website to the particular services I offer are here.  I have had somebody come and clean my house, come and trim my dogs nails, and cut down some metal shelves for me and more, through services on Simbi. In exchange I have done things from critiquing resumes to helping people move. unnamed

Trading and bartering seems to be becoming more and more common as more people struggle trying to fill the holes in their finances. I have had family members who had their automobile professionally painted through an exchange of another service. Also people are starting to sell more and more items online through services like Craigslist or the Facebook market in addition to services like eBay. Bartering (1)

I want to talk a little about the purchaser and vender relationship. Services like Simbi and The Facebook market bring an aspect to buying and selling things that is missing from our society today. Because we use money for an exchange of goods and services the transaction is impersonal. This is because it’s quick and there is rarely a long-term relationship developed between purchasers and vendors.

W. Edwards Deming (who I have talked about in the past) says this about purchasing:

“economists teach the world that competition in the marketplace gives everyone the best deal. This may have been so in the days gone by, when the baker had his customers, the Taylor his, the cheese-maker his, and so forth. In those days, it was fairly easy to make an intelligent purchase.

It is different today. The price tag is still easy to read, but an understanding of quality requires education.

The purchasing department must change its focus from lowest initial cost of material purchased to lowest total cost. This means education in purchasing. It is also necessary to learn that specifications of incoming materials do not tell the whole story about performance. What problems does the material and counter in production?”

  If you plan on managing ANYTHING Out of the Crisis by Deming is a must read. Bartering (3)

He also explains why it is so important to have a strong relationship between supplier buyer. He says it is important with continuing delivery of material. Although your vendor might have a higher price than their competitor,  over time you will pay less.  This is true even if you were to buy at the lowest cost from another vendor.

Ultimately, the greatest value of any transaction is the relationship between the two parties.  The cooperation of the two will create long-term quality both will benefit from and become prosperous.

-Brandon