Last Thursday, Britain's first autonomous shuttle was launched in Cambridge, where it toured the university campus as part of its first tests. Yet (greatness of the future!), it is not the autonomous driving of this shuttle that is causing the most sensation. In a world where we get used to everything, that is a fact that is already almost acquired. What causes a sensation is the appearance: guys, this shuttle is as ugly as a terrible pain in a molar on a Saturday night.
Doesn't it remind you of one of those ugly insects with their corresponding ugly exoskeleton? Or maybe a bad, angry Transformer? The Union Jack painted on the bodywork, however, does not favor the harmony of the whole.
Yes, this shuttle is a horror.
And apparently I'm not the only one to have noticed! On Twitter it is all a flood of horrified comments among the followers of the various accounts of the Greater Cambridge Partnership.
Among the most flattering ones:
Looks like it's already crashed – GoonerWA (@Zimex15) 28 May 2021
Could they have chosen a less “busy” paint job? It's a shuttle, not a Great War battleship — Dave Lauchlan (@davelauchlan) 28 May 2021
It looks like an angry Pokemon. - (@ Peradventur3) 27 May 2021
Ugly and dangerous?
Of course, the nose of the shuttle is already as visually appealing as a punch taken with brass knuckles, but it must be said that its design is also criticized for how potentially dangerous it is.
So when it inevitably hits you, it tears you into so many pieces that you don't have to suffer looking at it anymore - (@ SecretTeacher93) 27 May 2021
People talk about the paint job on the shuttle, but what I think is nice is that they made it safer by making all the edges on the front sharp. — (@lukecole78) 28 May 2021
A few details of the shuttle, apart from that
The self-driving, fully electric shuttle was developed by the engineering company Aurrigo. It can travel at speeds of up to 32 kilometers (20 miles) per hour and has a range of 160 kilometers (200 miles). It can carry 10 passengers in a single trip.
In these early stages, even if the shuttle is capable of driving on its own, security operators will be behind the wheel to take control at any time if necessary. The self-driving buses will follow regular traffic and their trials will begin in June.
Ultimately, this is a promising initiative for the UK to incorporate autonomous technology within its public transport system and I shouldn't be so childish judging the aesthetics. Unfortunately, however, I work in advertising and for me this is an important issue also in the diffusion of a culture more conciliatory with these new technologies.
