Forming an Opportunity Belief
1.) I believe that there is a need for self-driving cars.
2.) Self-driving cars would be a more efficient and potentially safer way for people to get place to place. They would aid in eradicating deaths due to drunk driving, sleeping behind the wheel, texting while driving, and much more. They would be able to get people to places faster, due to the fact that long rest stops for sleep would be less necessary. People who travel by road—especially those who travel long distances very often—have the need.
Prototypical Customer #1
3.) The prototypical customer would likely be someone who travels a lot for work, like a trucker/long distance transporter.
4.) I talked to my horse trainer, who trailers horses up and down the east coast all the time for horse shows. She stated that the nature for the need is to have a fast, safe way to transport horses, since long distance journeys are often uncomfortable and unhealthy for the animals. She mentions that she often times has to stop for overnight rest stops at other farms so that both she and the horses can get the rest necessary to continue the journey. She has had the need since she started trailering horses over 30 years ago and noticed how stressful and inefficient the process is. She is currently addressing the need by remaining a safe driver herself, or is sometimes hiring transport services or taking turns driving with someone else that she trusts behind the wheel. She believes that a self driving truck option, if optimized to be safe and somewhat affordable, would aid in making the transport process smoother for people and animals alike.
6.) I learned that it is very appealing to those who travel long distances for their jobs. I was surprised to learn that my horse trainer was very in favor of the idea, considering a lot of people are weary about the safety of self-driving vehicles.
Prototypical Customer #2
3.) The prototypical customer could be someone who has a long commute.
4.) I talked to my mom, who has to drive from our rural central Massachusetts town to Boston everyday for her corporate job. The nature of the need in her eyes is to have a more restful, enjoyable experience during her long commute. The commute can be up to two hours (one way) depending on traffic, so she would like to be able to sit back and relax. She has had the idea for the need since she began the job nearly 15 years ago. She is currently addressing the problem by having an apartment in Boston to spend the weekdays at, which is expensive and lonely. She believes that a self-driving car option would allow her more time to rest before and after work, help her save money by eradicating the need for an apartment in the city, and let her spend more time with her family, friends, and dogs. She also mentioned that if everyone were to travel in self-driving cars, there would be less accidents and thus less traffic, which would naturally make the commute faster.
5.) I learned that it is appealing to even to people whose job is not on the road. I was surprised by her insight on reduced traffic; I never thought about it that way.
Prototypical Customer #3
3.) The prototypical customer could be families looking for a luxurious and easy mode of transportation for day-to-day activities.
4.) I talked to the woman that I babysit for. The nature of her need is to have a safe, reliable way to get her young kids to school, sports practices, and other events. She has had the idea for the need ever since her kids were enrolled in school. The bus comes "too early" for their liking, so she opts to drive her kids to school everyday. She is currently addressing the problem by continuing to drive them herself, or sometimes having me pick the up if she is too busy. She believes that a self-driving car would make this process "less of a drag on her day." She even came up with the idea of it not even needing an adult "driver"; if it is a truly safe option, she could just program the GPS to go pick up/drop off her kids without her direct involvement.
5.) I learned that this is even appealing for basic day-to-day activities that may not even involve long car rides. I was surprised by her idea of the car not even needing her in it to get the job of getting her kids to school. While far-fetched, I believe that it would be an amazing feat.
Summary
Based on the information I gathered from prototypical customers, I believe it can be concluded that their is a strong interest in self-driving cars. While some were weary of safety issues, they all came to the conclusion that if it were engineered to be perfectly safe and was widely implemented in society, it would be a great product that they would like to utilize. They all see it as a way to save time and travel in a less demanding manner, and thus find it a very attractive idea.
2.) Self-driving cars would be a more efficient and potentially safer way for people to get place to place. They would aid in eradicating deaths due to drunk driving, sleeping behind the wheel, texting while driving, and much more. They would be able to get people to places faster, due to the fact that long rest stops for sleep would be less necessary. People who travel by road—especially those who travel long distances very often—have the need.
Prototypical Customer #1
3.) The prototypical customer would likely be someone who travels a lot for work, like a trucker/long distance transporter.
4.) I talked to my horse trainer, who trailers horses up and down the east coast all the time for horse shows. She stated that the nature for the need is to have a fast, safe way to transport horses, since long distance journeys are often uncomfortable and unhealthy for the animals. She mentions that she often times has to stop for overnight rest stops at other farms so that both she and the horses can get the rest necessary to continue the journey. She has had the need since she started trailering horses over 30 years ago and noticed how stressful and inefficient the process is. She is currently addressing the need by remaining a safe driver herself, or is sometimes hiring transport services or taking turns driving with someone else that she trusts behind the wheel. She believes that a self driving truck option, if optimized to be safe and somewhat affordable, would aid in making the transport process smoother for people and animals alike.
6.) I learned that it is very appealing to those who travel long distances for their jobs. I was surprised to learn that my horse trainer was very in favor of the idea, considering a lot of people are weary about the safety of self-driving vehicles.
Prototypical Customer #2
3.) The prototypical customer could be someone who has a long commute.
4.) I talked to my mom, who has to drive from our rural central Massachusetts town to Boston everyday for her corporate job. The nature of the need in her eyes is to have a more restful, enjoyable experience during her long commute. The commute can be up to two hours (one way) depending on traffic, so she would like to be able to sit back and relax. She has had the idea for the need since she began the job nearly 15 years ago. She is currently addressing the problem by having an apartment in Boston to spend the weekdays at, which is expensive and lonely. She believes that a self-driving car option would allow her more time to rest before and after work, help her save money by eradicating the need for an apartment in the city, and let her spend more time with her family, friends, and dogs. She also mentioned that if everyone were to travel in self-driving cars, there would be less accidents and thus less traffic, which would naturally make the commute faster.
5.) I learned that it is appealing to even to people whose job is not on the road. I was surprised by her insight on reduced traffic; I never thought about it that way.
Prototypical Customer #3
3.) The prototypical customer could be families looking for a luxurious and easy mode of transportation for day-to-day activities.
4.) I talked to the woman that I babysit for. The nature of her need is to have a safe, reliable way to get her young kids to school, sports practices, and other events. She has had the idea for the need ever since her kids were enrolled in school. The bus comes "too early" for their liking, so she opts to drive her kids to school everyday. She is currently addressing the problem by continuing to drive them herself, or sometimes having me pick the up if she is too busy. She believes that a self-driving car would make this process "less of a drag on her day." She even came up with the idea of it not even needing an adult "driver"; if it is a truly safe option, she could just program the GPS to go pick up/drop off her kids without her direct involvement.
5.) I learned that this is even appealing for basic day-to-day activities that may not even involve long car rides. I was surprised by her idea of the car not even needing her in it to get the job of getting her kids to school. While far-fetched, I believe that it would be an amazing feat.
Summary
Based on the information I gathered from prototypical customers, I believe it can be concluded that their is a strong interest in self-driving cars. While some were weary of safety issues, they all came to the conclusion that if it were engineered to be perfectly safe and was widely implemented in society, it would be a great product that they would like to utilize. They all see it as a way to save time and travel in a less demanding manner, and thus find it a very attractive idea.
I enjoyed reading about your opportunity because the idea of autonomous vehicles truly fascinates me. In my philosophy class we have been discussing the morality of self-driving cars. Although it would be an amazing thing to have cars that do all the work of picking up our kids, getting friends and loved ones to their events and stuff, there are also so many factors we wouldn't think about that could cause more harm! But, I think if some how we got all the cars on the road to be self-driving, so many benefits would come from them for people.
ReplyDeleteHey Katherine,
ReplyDeleteIn our lifetime we will soon see that most cars will be self driving. As of today, there are big risks in making cars self driving. But like all technology, it will learn and grow quickly. While Tesla technically does not have self-driving cars yet, they are super close. The biggest error in self driving cars is not the self driving car, but the surrounding cars driven by people. People are unpredictable unlike data and statistics. I think one day we will meet your expectations.
As someone who doesn’t relish driving, I think your opportunity belief is a great one. It would certainly aid in certain issues such as drunk driving. I believe one day we will get to that point where all cars are self-driving cars, it’ll just take some time. I suspect there will be some resistance because some people like driving their own cars and will not be used to the idea of cars driving themselves.
ReplyDelete