Only three years ago, it seemed not realistic that driverless cars could practically be used within one decade. Autonomous cars are very handy: you won’t get any speed tickets, because the system shall abide by the rules and regulations. You can watch your favorite series/movies. Next to that, it looks awesome! The autonomous part about cars is not that innovative anymore. AI has made humans much more aware about the ability that robots will take over the future, in due time. In the meantime, let’s have a blast. We see much more automobile companies introducing cars that will gradually become totally independent of humans.
Yesterday, Tesla presented a video that showed how their Model X car autonomously navigate through an urban area. The car was able to leave the garage and bring the owner to his work. This ride included traffic, highway lanes and traffic regulations. The car had even recognized the disabled parking spot and parked the car somewhere else. A cool feature is the Summon button. Once pressed, the car will pick you up no matter where you are. In the future all the Tesla cars will have a built-in self-drive function
We saw the developments regarding autonomous vehicles as a fun and spectacular thing, but it is so much more. In the (near) future it will not be seen as an accessory but as a part of mobility. While incorporating this into society, we should also look at the implications this has. The first thing that popped up in my mind when thinking about an autonomous vehicles was safety. How can they ensure that no accidents occur? Well, they can’t yet. However, this is also not possible with regular vehicles and they are still looking for solutions to diminish this.
The automobile industry is evolving and this has been a disruptive technology for the sector. Rules and regulations are being looked at and some are changed worldwide. Robots make a better world than we do. In the end, they will also create a world without having the possibility to drink and drive.
References:
http://mashable.com/2016/10/19/tesla-elon-musk-announcement/#jDq5TpvzUqqs
https://www.wired.com/2015/05/google-wants-eliminate-human-driving-5-years/
Hi Natnael,
Thank you for your post. I just uploaded an article by myself about robot and moral issues in driving cars: https://digitalstrategy.rsm.nl//2016/10/21/a-robot-will-kill-the-wrong-one/
Summarized: I want to say that, on the contrary, only people can make moral choices. For example, a robot of two roads will always choose the path where he kills the fewest individuals, while a man seeing two men with a bomb belt for themselves and another choice is then when a playing child jumps to his car. Please read my article, as this is line with your article with respect to the subject and let me know what you think on the other side.
Kind regards,
Amir
Hi Natnael,
Thanks for your post! Regarding your point about safety, I actually read an article yesterday which looks at, ‘If a driverless car gets into an accident, whose fault is it?’ It’s quite interesting to look at the different approach of companies towards the issue. For example, Tesla said that an individual’s insurance would need to pay unless the accident was related to the car’s design. On the other hand, Volvo said last year that they would take full liability for all cars in autonomous mode. Do you think that Volvo will then create a competitive advantage over Tesla in this situation?
– http://www.marketwatch.com/story/auto-insurers-are-taking-a-wait-and-see-approach-with-self-driving-cars-2016-10-21
Hi Natnael, thanks for the interesting post! While reading your blog I started wondering about the safety aspect of self-driving cars, and how they could ensure that no accidents happen. Well that’s a good point, however, human also make many mistakes while driving. The statistics shows that there were more than 20 000 fatalities in road accidents only in Europe for 2014. Most of these accidents happen due to human mistakes like driving while drunk, falling asleep while driving or not reacting adequately in a stressful situation. This suggests that even though autonomous cars also have a margin of error due to which accidents can occur, it is likely to be less than the margin of error for humans. There are also studies which show that the crash rates for traditional cars tend to be higher compared to the crash rates on self-driving cars. I think that with the rate of improvements in technology and software, it is possible to have a safer world with autonomous driving cars.
However, there are many obstacles that have to be overcome before reaching this, for example there are no safety standards for self-driving cars yet. So I was wondering- Which regulations do you think are important for self-driving cars?
Sources:
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/123214/20160112/study-says-self-driving-cars-are-safer-than-human-driven-vehicles-should-you-believe-it.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Road_safety_statistics_at_regional_level