Global design consultancy Teague introduced its innovative concept “Hannah,” the name of an autonomous driving pod that could one day be used to transport children to school from home, Wired reports.
Teague detailed that the self-driving, auto-pod can carry up to six students at a time and features communication via an intercom and automatic rerouting.
Though Hannah remains a concept, the public remains on the fence in trusting a driverless and adult-less form of transportation, especially for children.
Devin Liddell, Teague principal brand strategist says “[h]ow you transport kids in the future, in an autonomous world, ends up being a proxy for trust in driverless vehicles in general.”
A pew research center survey conducted in May found that 39 percent of participants felt enthusiastic about driverless vehicle development whereas 53 percent expressed worry.
The designers said they realize that the concept seems too much for most but Teague remains steadfast in arguing the inevitable transition to driverless vehicles. Company officials said they believe technological renovations for cars will expand to student transportation vehicles because of historic lack of full funding for school districts and consistent record in safer transportation for students.
Fred Andersky, who oversees marketing and government affairs for Bendix Vehicle Solutions, said in a conversation to WIred that he believes a conversation on new technology for student transportation seems implausible due to school districts having limited budgets amid an “outrageously expensive” market.
“The basic argument is, we’re not having crashes. Why send on technology?” said Andersky.
Teague suggested that its concept can possibly resolve recurring issues of school bus driver shortages and retention. School bus drivers could evolve into roles that are similar to fleet managers as they could monitor multiple pods carrying kids back and forth between school and their respective homes, the company said.
