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Comment by hk__2 | Hacker News Reader

The article really reads like “here is what some marketing people did and based on zero other information here is what we could expect or maybe not because as I said we don’t have any information but here is some text just so you think there is more information when in fact there is nothing”.

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They’re mocking the concept. That’s why there’s nothing interesting here. They think the idea is stupid.

“ Well, perhaps when this solution comes out, the government will have made sure that every square foot of tarmac is perfectly level everywhere in the world. Yes, I think that’s right. And anyway, in these clips previewing the car in a futuristic environment, you don’t ever see any bumps in the road, now do you?”

There’s off road and on road vehicles. There may be level and unlevel road vehicles.

Most super cars are what you would call level road vehicles. The distinction wouldn't be entirely new

I wouldn't call this a "road vehicle", because there are basically no real world roads this flat. I drive a Chevy Volt in urban areas only and I'm constantly complaining how low the clearance is.

I could see this in use in factories, but this technology basically already exists so not sure what advantage these spherical wheels would give.

Yeah I was thinking of gigantic industrial/factory floor surfaces, some types of malls, and/or large theme parks. I think the first successful fully autonomous driving platform will probably have this wheel/frame style as a base, and operate within the confines of some single entity's road/surface network.

Hello dpark, my name is Tristan Boudazin aka TK Dynation and I'm the author of this article. You're right about the sarcasm and irony I put into this article as I don't take the idea very seriously. All in all it's interesting, just not realistic at least nowadays. Thank you for the commentary you and other users come up with, it's all very interesting to me. Have a great day, Tristan.

Exactly my thoughts. I kept thinking the interesting part is coming, but no, it’s just someone’s thoughts on a pre-alpha concept that nobody even pretends will ever become a reality.

If you think about any of their suggestions for more than three seconds, it becomes clear they’re not feasible. For example:

> The idea behind this concept is for the “cabin” part of the vehicle to constantly suit your personal requirements. In the future, you’ll be able to ask for a certain interior and exterior combination via an app probably and as the car comes to where you’re at, you get to discover, not only the perfect cabin for you but also some with different designs and purposes.

This would instantly double the amount of trips necessary for any rideshares where you need (want) to customize the cabin (Current Location -> Closest Cabin Station -> Your location, as opposed to Current Location -> Your location). Since folks customizing the cabin likely won’t want to pay double the price, that additional cost will be distributed in part to every consumer. For such a price sensitive market, I don’t see this being even close to feasible. That said, maybe the article was satirical like another commenter mentioned, and this was a comment made in jest that went entirely over my head.

Article sarcasm aside, PMDs are becoming extremely common. There are scooters in many cities, and there's stuff like powered boards. Yes, there are a range of new challenges with PMDs.

Citroen has probably noticed the trend and is trying to get ahead of it, but is missing the point entirety.

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