darknovel #299 - Virtual Earth?!
#299 - Virtual Earth?!
"Of course, military applications ultimately don't have much to do with us ordinary people, so let's talk about the uses in the civilian sector."
Speaking of which, Gao Nian paused for a moment and then said:
"Our StarNet satellite positioning system, when used in the civilian sector, will have a huge impact, enough to change human history!"
"Why do I say that?
Our StarNet program initially has 13,000 StarNet satellites, and in the mid-to-late stages, it will have 29,000 StarNet satellites, for a total of 42,000 StarNet satellites.
With so many StarNet satellites combined, it can not only provide internet services, but also establish a virtual Earth through satellite positioning and real-time observation functions, using artificial intelligence technology.
In this virtual Earth, the appearance, shape, and size of every building will be exactly the same as in reality.
Relying on our initial 52,000 space cameras and the later total of 168,000 space cameras for real-time scanning, the update time for the virtual Earth will not exceed 3 days whenever there is a new change in the appearance of a building or landform.
After that, we can use this ultra-precise satellite positioning function to know the precise location of users in real-time through the virtual Earth.
Later, when unmanned delivery drones are born, they can directly deliver express packages or goods to the user's doorstep.
Users don't need to go downstairs to shop, nor do they need to go to the express delivery pick-up point to get their packages; they only need to move their fingers and then pick up the package on the balcony!"
"Wow!"
Hearing Gao Nian's words, the people at the scene immediately burst into an uproar, and then looked at Gao Nian with bright eyes.
Because the scene Gao Nian described was simply too wonderful.
Being able to pick up express packages or food directly on the balcony without leaving home is simply too wonderful.
Many people, thinking about being able to receive packages without leaving home and having food delivered automatically to their door after buying it on their phone, couldn't help but imagine how good it would be if this scene really came true.
However, the most surprising part hasn't been fully revealed yet. Gao Nian continued after the uproar and applause subsided slightly:
"In addition to delivery drones, the next huge application is the autonomous driving service for electric vehicles.
As for the second part, the external part of the electric vehicle relies on our StarNet satellite positioning system.
Our StarNet satellite positioning system has a virtual Earth, and the update time for each building's environmental appearance in this virtual Earth does not exceed 3 days at the latest.
This also means that the route we arrange is highly effective, efficient, and safe. Therefore, our StarNet satellite system and autonomous driving technology are the best combination, and can truly achieve L4 or even L5 level fully autonomous driving."
"After that, our electric vehicles will become truly unmanned vehicles, and the cost of personnel and material circulation will be greatly reduced.
First of all, the cost of the cargo transportation industry will be greatly reduced.
The major expenditures in the cargo transportation industry are divided into five parts, which together determine the price of cargo circulation.
The first is the operating cost of cargo transportation nodes, the second is the cost of vehicle procurement and maintenance, the third is the cost of hiring drivers, the fourth is the cost of vehicle fuel, and the fifth is the cost of vehicle insurance.
Among these five major cost expenditures, the higher proportions are the cost of hiring drivers, the cost of vehicle fuel, and the cost of vehicle insurance.
Autonomous driving technology, combined with our StarNet satellite positioning system, can achieve L4 or even L5 level autonomous driving technology.
Since our trucks are electric, the cost of fuel is not a concern. The price of electricity is much cheaper than fuel, and energy expenditure costs are reduced dramatically.
Subsequently, there is the cost of vehicle drivers. Once autonomous driving technology reaches L4 or L5 level, it can eliminate the need for vehicle drivers, so the cost of hiring drivers can naturally be disregarded.
As for the cost of vehicle insurance, because autonomous driving technology is used, the autonomous driving system has multiple designs to prevent unexpected events from occurring.
Therefore, the probability of autonomous driving trucks having accidents is almost zero. Even if there is an accident, it is usually caused by human drivers colliding with the trucks.
As a result, the price of vehicle insurance, which is determined by the frequency and probability of accidents, will also decrease accordingly, reaching an insignificant level.
With this series of cost reductions, the cost of material transportation will naturally decrease sharply, and then, under the butterfly effect, the prices of goods in various industries will also decrease accordingly.
This also means that many previously expensive goods will now be affordable to more people, and more people will be able to enjoy the benefits brought by advanced technology."
"Wow!"
Hearing this, the people at the scene burst into an uproar again, for Gao Nian's words.
They had never imagined that the combination of the StarNet satellite positioning system and the autonomous driving system for electric vehicles would have such a huge impact.
And what surprised them the most was that, upon thinking about it, they realized that what Gao Nian said had a very high probability of coming true.
It could even be said that once the StarNet project is completed and electric trucks supporting L4 or L5 level autonomous driving technology appear, the rapid popularization of driverless electric trucks will become irreversible.
At that time, if your freight company insists on using human labor, your labor costs, fuel costs, and vehicle insurance costs will be more expensive than other freight companies, and your quotations will be higher.
In that case, those companies will definitely not choose your freight company, and ultimately, your company will be惨遭 (miserably) eliminated by the market.
After that, I'm afraid that in just a few years, freight companies all over the world will adopt autonomous driving electric trucks.
Even if there are places where human drivers are needed, it will only be in relatively complex areas where autonomous driving technology is difficult to navigate.
As for passenger cars, compared to electric trucks for freight, the outcome will be similar. The unmanned autonomous driving of passenger cars is also inevitable.
For taxis, the cost of human drivers, fuel, and vehicle insurance naturally accounts for the majority of the operating costs.
Now that smartphones have become completely ubiquitous, users have become accustomed to entering their destination in their phone, which provides the possibility for unmanned taxis to become a reality.
Therefore, if taxis achieve unmanned autonomous driving, taxi companies will definitely not hesitate to eliminate human drivers and switch to unmanned autonomous driving electric taxis that do not require drivers, gasoline, and have lower vehicle insurance costs.
After all, if they don't follow suit, other taxi companies using unmanned taxis will have lower operating costs and lower quotations.
In this situation, how can you win against others? How can you survive?