It Started With da Vinci

There’s a good reason for that, though: there is no single inventor. Many different people designed and built precursors to modern automobiles. Some may say the idea should be credited to Leonardo da Vinci, who made models of various transport vehicles. However, because he never successfully built a full version, it’s harder to say he “invented” it. Da Vinci merely laid the groundwork for others to follow.

In 1769, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot from France built the first self-propelled, steam-powered vehicle. It was a three-wheeled tractor meant for military use and reached a top speed of 2.5 MPH. While not a car, it was an automobile that could be driven on the roads. Cugnot was followed by Robert Anderson, a Scotsman who created an electric carriage sometime between 1832-1839. During that period, American Thomas Davenport worked on his own electric vehicle.

Three Wheels or Four?

However, all three men are largely overshadowed by Karl Friedrich Benz, who unveiled his gas-powered vehicle in around 1885-1886. This is largely considered the first “real” automobile, with an internal combustion engine that is still widely used today. It had three wheels, four cycles, and the engine and chassis formed a single unit. In other words, it most closely resembled what we consider to be a modern car, just minus one wheel.

Around the same time, also in Germany, Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach built their own gasoline-powered automobile. This one did have four wheels and was named the “Cannstatt-Daimler.” They would reuse the engine for many other vehicles over the years, including trolleys and the world’s first motorboat. Eventually, Benz and Daimler merged their companies, becoming what is today known as Mercedes-Benz.

From that point onwards, most early automobiles used gasoline as fuel. For instance, George Baldwin Selden patented a carriage with a built-in combustion engine in 1895. It was never manufactured, but Selden did collect royalties. Two years prior, Charles and Frank Duryea made the first successful gas-powered car and set up America’s first car manufacturing company.

Henry Ford and the Future

Of course, all these men have been greatly overshadowed by Henry Ford and his Model T. While Ford did not invent the automobile, he’s widely considered to have perfected it (for the time) and made it accessible to the greater public. The Model T itself was awarded Car of the Century in 1999, and standardized many features we now take for granted, like different speed gears and parking brakes. For this reason, fairly or not, Henry Ford is believed to be the father of the modern automobile.

Plenty of other advancements have happened in the world of automobiles. Pickup trucks and vans became available and eventually commonplace. Station wagons grew in prominence before falling out of fashion. Peugeot produced the first hardback convertible in 1934. Tesla has released a line of plug-in, all-electric vehicles, with the Tesla Model S being named the new Car of the Century. (Time will tell if it’ll keep that title.)

The history of the automobile is complex, with no one person behind it. Perhaps that’s why it has evolved and changed greatly over the years. Whether you credit its invention to Ford, Benz, da Vinci, or somebody else, one thing is agreed upon: the world would be drastically different without it. For that, we have a long list of names to thank.

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The concept of the self-driving car is nothing new; however, this is the newest model that Mercedes-Benz has released! This cocoon-like “autonomous” vehicle, known as the F 015 “Luxury in Motion,” was released by the car company at CES 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This self-driving car invented by Mercedes-Benz has a capsule-like shape and an elongated body that measures 17 feet in length and a mere five feet in height.

The futuristic-looking long windshield transforms into a sunroof as the lone pane of glass covers the F 015’s roof.

Inside of the Mercedes-Benz are pedestal seats that rotate 30 degrees when the carriage-style doors are opened.

Like the old saying goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Not only is the exterior of this vehicle sleek and modern, the inside also offers a luxurious experience for passengers!

When passengers are inside of the Mercedes-Benz self-driving car, they will be connected to the world outside of the car through six high-resolution touch-screen display panels located on the doors that enable passengers to utilize gestures, touch or even eye movements to navigate.

That’s not all! The Mercedes-Benz F 015 is not only an autonomous vehicle; it also can be driven by a human. However, while under the auto-pilot setting, blue LED lights located in the car’s grill, light up and have the ability to either project onto a crosswalk to let pedestrians know it’s safe to cross or to communicate with other drivers.

However, with this invention and all of its jaw-dropping innovation, Mercedes-Benz isn’t as interested in the car as they are in how this car will factor into the future way of living.

The German car company believes that in time, self-driving vehicles will be used in day-to-day travel.

Do you want to see this futuristic car in motion?

Copyright Inventionland, 2015

Sources:

https://www.cnet.com/news/mercedes-benz-unveils-luxury-concept-self-driving-car/

https://mashable.com/2015/01/05/mercedes-benz-luxury-in-motion/

Media:

https://www.trbimg.com/img-54ac2eeb/turbine/la-fi-hy-ces-2015-mercedes-autonomous-pictures-020/900/900×506

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYTV4d-Gn0sv

The post Mercedes-Benz is Driving Their Way to Innovation in 2015 appeared first on Inventionland.