Ingersoll Rand has just unveiled its new golf car, the Club Car Tempo, at the 2018 BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) show in Harrogate, UK. I was really excited to learn more about it after the “Shark Experience” added value service was presented in December 2017.
What is missing from the all-in-one Club Car Tempo???
The manufacturer of Club Car Tempo, Ingersoll Rand built-in all of its latest innovation:
- Visage Fleet Management, which enables golf operators and their staff to simplify operations, control costs and maximize course efficiencies.
- Visage GPS navigation system.
- Shark Experience: a multi-functional platform that provides multimedia content (by Verizon), mapping, food & beverage ordering service etc.
In addition to these, they made a little facelift as well by adding rust-proof aluminum frame, new alloy wheels, premium comfort seats. One of the first questions that came to my mind is: why there is no ventilator in the new Club Car Tempo??
In my previous post, I have already explained my reservations regarding the usefulness of the ‘Shark Experience‘. In that post, I questioned the relevance of such service in golf clubs and golf resorts. I do not understand why did they prefer it over such solutions like the hands-free Voder. It is very similar to Amazon Echo‘s Alexa and Google Home.
Just like Amazon Echo and Google Home, Voder is AI-powered (Artificial Intelligence) and costs only $49. Voder’s(Previously called Dashbot) Kickstarter campaign was so successful last year that they were able to raise $61,000 of its $100,000 goal in a little bit more than 24 hours.
In total, they were able to collect $265,331 through this crowdfunding platform. The device works with an Android and iOS companion app.
It could be connected to the Club Car Tempo golf car via either the dual USB port or a 12 V power port. Actually, this is the first system to bring personal assistant technology to cars.
When will Club Car Tempo become a self-driving golf car?
It would be also interesting to see when will self-driving golf cars appear in the golf industry. Two years ago, a McKinsey study said: “Fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) are unlikely to be commercially available before 2020.”
At this moment regulations and consumer acceptance are representing obstacles for autonomous vehicles. McKinsey believes in good case ~50 percent of passenger vehicles sold in 2030 will be highly autonomous and ~15 percent will be fully autonomous.
At this moment Google is leading the race by having driverless cars already in the testing stages, but Audi, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz are also in an advanced stage.
If I have to compare these two above-mentioned obstacles, then I think consumer acceptance and trust will be a bigger challenge than the regulations.
