Self Driving Cars... the Future is Now

Are We In The Future?

Self driving cars have been a staple of sci-fi and visions of the future for a long time. In recent years Artificial Intelligence technology has started to catch up with imagination. According to TechCrunch article, in 2021 there are over 1400 self-driving cars on the road, however, “nearly 43% of people in the US don’t feel safe in a driverless car”, according to PolicyAdvice.com. The German car company Audi has stated that they will invest $16 Billion into self-driving vehicles by 2023. That is quite a chunk of money, but the automated-vehicle global market is already a hefty $54 Billion, which will no doubt continue to expand over the next several years, with some projections estimating “to increase tenfold in the next 5–7 years”, according to Nissan.

Are All Automated Vehicles Made Equal?

Different types of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) include a range from Level 1 including driver assistance functions, to Level 5 including fully-automated function with no need for human interaction. Level 5 AVs are the newest and least studied, largely because they are not fully developed and are not widely available yet.

How Comfortable Are We?

Results vary depending on age, gender, and whether working in a tech field or not, but according to US News of 1000 people polled in a survey, “only 57% of people familiar with self-driving cars would be willing to ride inside them”. There are a variety of statistics on this topic but generally they show that most people are not fully comfortable with the idea of self-driving cars yet. But as with any major change in paradigm, as something becomes more familiar and accessible, minds will change.

So, How Safe Are Self-Driving Cars?

Since the introduction of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) on the road there have been deaths in accidents caused by a miscalculation or mistake by the AV. However, compared with the much larger number of people who are injured or killed in non-automated car crashes every year, the potential for increasing safety on the roads is significant. As the tech gets safer and more reliable, there will undoubtedly be more and more automated vehicles on the roads. Comfort with the changing environments on the road may be the largest hurdle that societies will have to overcome.

Big Change is Coming...

The question of autonomy is an interesting one in the context of AI and in this case, autonomous vehicles. Considerations should be taken for how certain vehicle-intensive industries like trucking and logistics will change with the influx of automated vehicles. Trucks that travel long distances on largely straight roads are a prime first candidate for automation. Full automation in shipping is still probably a ways off but we are much closer than people might think.