Exhibition: Driverless Futures: Utopia or Dystopia?

The first driverless cars are expected to be publically available from 2020.


This exhibition, put on by the Royal College of Art presents an interactive display, that explores the world of driverless vehicles as part of the GATEway project (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment).

The dawn of autonomous vehicles presents the most significant change in transport since the transition from horse-drawn carriages to motorised vehicles. As driverless technology develops, it is estimated that driverless vehicles will be prolific in our cities from 2050.

This exhibition digs deeper into the impact these developments will have on our everyday lives, and will highlight real-life hopes and fears as well as ideas from Vehicle Designers at the RCA.

Driverless Futures will look at peoples, aspirations about driverless vehicles as well as their concerns by using the narrative of four fictional characters and scenarios based on real journeys. Thinking beyond traditional car-like vehicles to include systems, services and even architectural spaces, these future lifestyles might include an orderable bus service that takes commuters door-to-door and allows them to take a yoga class while travelling, or hirable drones that carry shopping bags home. Whether these changes will herald the end of busy commutes and personal freedom, or the loss of independence and the decline of healthy lifestyles, Driverless Futures will consider possible perspectives.

The designs and findings are drawn from new research that the RCA has developed through public workshops with over 100 participants, incorporating thousands of resultant hopes and fears for future cities.