Autonomous Cars Almost Ready, Drivers Not So Much

by Chris Owen on

Autonomous cars, once seen only in works of science fiction, are almost a reality. The robotic version of today’s motor vehicle is promising to deliver fewer crashes, increased roadway capacity, improved parking ability and more. Car makers say the driver-less vehicles would even eliminate constraints due to the occupant’s state assessing age, disabilities or even blood alcohol level.

As Gigaom reports, the future is fast approaching.
“There is no technology barrier from going where we are now to the autonomous car,” said Jim McBride, a Ford Research and Innovation technical expert who specializes in autonomous vehicle technologies. “There are affordability issues, but the big barrier to overcome is customer acceptance.”

Research vehicles with cameras that can see the road in all directions should be more efficient than a driver with just mirrors. Scanning lasers, vehicle-to-vehicle communications and a hive-like network linking thousands of vehicles at once for maximum safety are all elements available today.However, drivers are not so eager to embrace autonomous cars, so automakers are taking it a step at a time by gradually introducing drivers to more automation.

“People are more accepting of the idea,” Mike Kane, the Ford vehicle engineering supervisor for driver assistance technologies. “They always want their cars to do more. . . . It is going to take a decade before the masses fully accept the autonomous car, but they’ll get there.”

[Flickr photo via Daniel Dreier]

TripAdvisor Now Displays Reviews From Your Facebook Friends First

by Libby Zay on

Travel review site TripAdvisor knows that when it comes to travel planning, we often get by with a little help from our friends. Today, the company announced the “Friend of a Friend” feature, which ensures that hotel, restaurant and attraction reviews submitted from a user’s Facebook friends will appear first on the page, followed by reviews from friends of friends. From there, it is possible to ask anyone in the network for further advice through private messages.

Of course, travelers will still be able to see all the reviews from TripAdvisor users on the rest of the page, and the possibility to adjust your privacy settings to limit what Facebook friends can see on TripAdvisor is also available (just in case you wrote a scathing review of a hotel your friend picked out). Travelers who don’t want to see their friends’ reviews can also opt out.

The feature is live now with the exception of China and Egypt. Just visit the TripAdvisor website and then click the “Sign in with Facebook” option at the top of the page.

Suspicious About Hotel Reviews? You Are Not Alone

by Chris Owen on

Hotel reviews come from a variety of sources. Trusted travel experts, agents and professional organizations may have delivered in the past when travelers chose an unfamiliar hotel so, naturally, people continue to utilize the resources for their future decisions. Others might check in with TripAdvisor or online travel sellers Expedia, Priceline, Travelocity, Orbitz and Hotels.com. Whoever travelers are checking in with, it’s big business with mixed results.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the hotel review equation is difficult to navigate. “It’s hard to overstate how important customer reviews are [to hotel sales],” said Douglas Quinby, senior research director at PhoCusWright Inc., a travel-research firm.

Common complaints about online hotel reviews stem from their accuracy. What one guest experiences and reviews turns out to be an entirely different experience for someone else.

Reviews often highlight a stark difference between commonly rated factors like the “value received” and whether a hotel “exceeded expectations” from one stay to another.

Oh, and those reviews that jump off the page as being just too good? Reviews that sound like they were written by a hotel manager looking for business? They might very well be.

In a study of hotel-review websites last year, PhoCusWright decided to remove one small national brand of hotels because the data was suspicious. “The volume of reviews was off the charts and the [rating] scores were off the charts,” said Mr. Quinby. He declined to identify the hotel brand.

Which reviews should you trust? Probably not TripAdvisor.

In February, the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority ruled that TripAdvisor’s advertised claim of “trusted advice from real travelers” was misleading, because fake comments could be posted without verification.

TripAdvisor says it has technology to filter reviews, weeding out problems and that customers and hotels themselves are able to police the site for fake or inflated reviews.

But do they?

“When reviews don’t match up with reality, consumers return to the site to post reviews of their own experience,” said Adam Medros, vice president of global product for TripAdvisor in the Wall Street Journal report. Hotel owners sound the alarm either when another hotel is suspected of adding in fake reviews.

“It just works,” said Mr. Medros. “The site wouldn’t have grown as it has without users coming back and saying the information was useful.”

Experts disagree.

Travel-guidebook legend Arthur Frommer told the Journal that he began printing reader letters about hotels in the 60s. After a few years, he realized that hotels were writing him letters about themselves. “I was being gamed,” said Frommer. “Hotels are so dependent on reviews that of course they will generate their own. They would be crazy not to.”

Flickr photo by notphilatall

Dying To Cruise? New Website Spreads The Excitement, And Ashes

by Chris Owen on

Rabidly loyal fans of cruise vacations would be reluctant to cancel their trips, even with news of Norovirus outbreaks among passengers. Stories of ships tragically grounded or on fire do not even make them blink. These travelers are going to cruise no matter what, skipping other travel options to feed their addiction. With these travelers in mind, a new service is available to assist with even more luxurious cruise reservations — in the afterlife.

My Final Cruise handles the spreading of ashes at sea, complying with all environmental laws and allowing a great deal of input from their clients in a pre-need sort of way. Clients can choose to plan their own final cruise catering to their needs whether they want an accompanied service with friends and family in attendance or would prefer that their ashes be delivered and placed by the ship’s senior officers.

Those with a vision for what kind of service they might want can specify if they would like a meal following the service, a specific prayer or a poem to be read, a function in a private bar or to have those in attendance participate in a favorite activity they previously enjoyed.My Final Cruise also has a world map online that will record and display that final resting place at sea. In addition to the longitude and latitude, clients may add photos, a memorial and even a short video to share with others. The map is public, allowing government agencies to verify the exact location.

With a selection of biodegradable urns priced from $149.95, My Final Cruise caters to eco-concerned cruise travelers who can be sure their carbon footprint is low, even on that final cruise.

[Flickr photo via Official U.S. Navy Imagery]



Photo Of The Day: Old Mill

by Chris Owen on

This Photo of the Day comes from Gadling Flickr pool member James Wheeler who captured the image using a Nikon D5000 and is titled “Oil Mill.”

James describes the image as “thee remains of an old mill that was in operation in the early 1900s. This is just a short walk from West Vancouver along a well-marked hiking trail.”

Upload your best shots to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Several times a week we choose our favorite images from the pool as Photos of the Day.