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From the time the first T models off the Ford assembly line hit the road, cars needed a human driver to steer the wheel. No one could have imagined a car driving all by itself, even a decade ago, but this incredibly exciting idea of a driverless car moving fast is becoming not just a plausible reality, but a commercially viable product.
Major car companies like Tesla, Audi and Nissan have invested heavily in this concept over the last few years and now many of these companies are offering partially autonomous cars on the market.
With an incredible amount of $5.6 trillion in global savings, which can be realized if driverless cars are adopted globally, not only traditional car manufacturers, but technology companies such as Google and Uber are also investing heavily to advance this concept. And mainly because of the efforts of tech giants like these, the technology behind driverless cars, namely powerful and highly integrated Artificially Intelligent systems, has made astonishing progress.
These driverless cars, which are being tested extensively, have been shown to have faster reaction times when it comes to avoiding accidents and now, they have even learned to listen and react to sounds from oncoming vehicles such as police cars and ambulances.
Fully autonomous cars that don’t require a human driver at all may still be some time away, but the technology available today is expected to make vehicle travel safer, cheaper, and highly entertainment and connectivity oriented.
While some related fields like insurance will surely take a hit through the introduction of driverless cars, the infotainment gadget and accessory industry can see a lot of business opportunities in the car where man can be free to do whatever he wants.
Driverless cars will not be like any other product, it is a major disruption whose effects will ripple across industries, creating new ones and obliterating old ones.
But the biggest problem with automation has always been the concern with job loss. For example a driverless car does not need a “Driver” and a driverless truck can transport all kinds of goods any distance, without even stopping until there is mechanical failure.
They can improve efficiency and effectiveness but create millions of lost jobs. Opinion against driverless cars and trucks has been highly polarized to date, due to their daring nature of solving a long-standing problem while creating another in its wake.
But job loss isn’t the only obstacle driverless cars face on their way to higher levels of acceptance. Since the vehicle operates completely without driver assistance, one of the biggest concerns, of course, for many future consumers is the possibility of an accident.
There was no one at the wheel and the car moving forward as usual was a nightmare scenario for many as the sight itself was terrifying. We’ve grown so used to seeing people drive cars, that now, the concept of a driverless car, would seem abnormal. This problem of trust deficit needs to be addressed in an appropriate way to pave the way for more people to come, understand, and adopt this incredible feat of human technology.
Until now, more than 93% of accidents occur due to human error. Driverless vehicles have an excellent safety record and even with a few minor disturbances along the way, they can drastically reduce the number of daily accidents that may occur. That’s because these cars are finely guided through the incredibly complex algorithms that power the onboard AI systems and can even tell the difference. dog from man.
One good example of this exemplary safety record is Waymo, Google’s self-driving arm, which has driven nearly 1.7 million miles of testing and has so far been involved in only 24 accidents, of which only one was the result of a crash. miscalculation in the onboard guidance system.
The first is real updates in automatic cars will be available to the general public in 2018, which will allow users to select the “hands-off-driving” option. This means that drivers will be allowed to let the car be driven automatically while having the option to reclaim control if the situation demands it. Due to this option, the driver will be held liable in any accident or if the technology fails.
However, these cars can only give you a maximum of 3 minutes of automatic driving time after which you have to take manual control. If you fail to do so, the car will stop after driving to a safe place.
Although self-driving cars have yet to make their commercial appearance, they have already gained a large number of fans and companies, who are waiting anxiously to see this amazing technology in definite action and tomorrow has finally arrived today.
