Travel, from big to small missions, is being impacted and continually optimized by artificial intelligence. One of the major obstacles to living and driving in Israel is traffic. Busy roads during all times of day can add 60-120 minutes to any journey. As more people head into Tel Aviv as the urban center for work, Google is trying at the least, to make traffic lights more efficient. Using Israel as its pilot project, their aim is “to predict traffic conditions and improve the timing of when traffic lights change. So far, we are seeing a 10-20% reduction in fuel consumption and delay time at intersections,” says CEO Sundar Pichai.
Another growing movement comes through the drone delivery systems, which is in phase three of its residential experiment, and currently delivering sushi, ice cream, medicine, and even donated blood. Sixteen Israeli companies are working together to operate about 300 deliveries per day, which function through a dedicated application. The National Drone Initiative is hoping to consolidate the various tracks of information to ensure that the necessary information is synchronized and centralized in order to avoid crashing and harming innocent sushi orderers.
Beyond traffic lights and drones, six astronauts have been inhabiting the Ramon Crater since Sunday, practicing for their mission to Mars. The Southern crater resembles the same extreme conditions as the destination planet. In just about a decade, the NASA mission is set to take off, with a budget of $100 billion. The 3-week simulation will guide the astronauts through various experiments as they remain in complete isolation in a space station-like structure. The astronauts are from Israel, Portugal, Austria, Holland, and Germany, and are being overseen by over 200 scientists in 25 countries. The project is being run by the Austrian Space Forum and the Israel Space Agency.
For those who want more ease from red lights, to escape to the red planet, the mix of travel and technology are certainly creating more expansive, and effective ways to get around.
