The filmmakers showed me a glimpse of how autonomous HGVs could actually look rather than the sleek, futuristic designs you often see. For a start, they removed the driver’s cab.
Science-fiction has always had an uncanny knack for predicting the future. Since the beginnings of cinema, films have predicted technologies that will soon follow. In 1902, Georges Méliès astounded audiences with ‘A Trip to the Moon’ in which a group of astronomers built a giant cannon to fire them to the moon. Less than 70 years later Saturn V took the first men to the moon for real.
Studios now employ scientists and engineers to design future technology for their films. But equally, those who grew up watching these films are inspired to create what they see on screen, hence the flip-phone and tablets – both incidentally inspired by Star Trek.
Often, designs in films look too slick or top-of-the-range, and not every-day. What stood out about the autonomous lorry convoys in ‘Logan’ was that they were just regular HGV trailers with wheels on each corner, like a coach, driving along without a cab. I wonder how many others saw this and will go on to design the autonomous vehicles of the future, or how long it will be before cabs are regularly omitted from designs?
This is the most realistic portrayal of mass-transit autonomous vehicles I’ve seen in a movie… the film wasn’t bad either.