Imagine calling an Uber, and the car shows up, but there's no driver behind the wheel; instead a remote "teledriver" has driven the car over to you. You get in the driver's seat, drive yourself to your destination, and then the teledriver takes the car back.
That's exactly the service that a startup called Vay is providing in Las Vegas. "Vay's teledriving technology is an alternative approach to autonomous driving," the company writes. "The cost-effective per-minute rental enables a seamless journey from the 'driverless' delivery of the vehicle to its return after the journey, without the hassle of parking."
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The cost is 30 cents per minute while you're on the road, and 3 cents per minute if you make an extended stop (at a store, for instance). The company says this is "the least expensive option to get from A to B."
Another obvious bright side: You no longer need to make smalltalk with a driver, and the remote teledrivers shown below can wear as much cologne as they want without making you gag.
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For now the service is only available in the UNLV and Arts District areas of Las Vegas. At press time the company had not announced expansion plans.
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