With each passing day, driverless cars seem to be edging closer to full commercial deployment. Automakers and tech companies, along with policymakers, are increasing their efforts for resolving various issues that stand on the way of autonomous vehicles, while the general public awaits eagerly to find out how transportation will look like once vehicles that drive themselves become available for purchase.
In the meantime, the race to launch the first self-driving car continues, with the competition getting fiercer constantly, and while different entities work on perfecting their autonomous driving technologies, authorities are focusing on coming up with the best solutions when it comes to the regulation of these vehicles.
Silicon Valley Vs. The Entire Auto Industry
There are many companies that are developing self-driving cars, and they are not limited to the automotive industry. A few tech companies are working on autonomous driving technology, as well, including Silicon Valley giants Apple and Google.
As far as car makers are concerned, the ones that are currently at the forefront of driverless car development include Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Audi, Volvo, in addition to Tesla Motors, which many observers consider a tech company, rather than a traditional automaker.
Google and Tesla are head and shoulders above the competition at the moment, and seem to be among the favorites to win the race to launch the first self-driving car. Google is the undisputed autonomous vehicle pioneer, having started testing its self-driving prototypes back in 2009, logging in over 2 million miles by now, which gives the tech firm a great head start. However, the search engine company has stated that it has no plans for building autonomous cars on its own, and will probably partner up with an automaker and just supply it with the technology, instead.
Tesla is also at a pretty advanced stage of its autonomous car development efforts, and plans to launch a self-driving car by the end of the decade. It has already rolled out a couple of advanced driver assistance systems, such as the Autopilot software, allowing cars to drive themselves on the highway and park themselves.
Safety Hazards
When it comes to safety hazards, there are a few concerns that are being addressed by manufacturers.
For starters, cars equipped with self-driving technology can’t decide on whether a given situation is potentially dangerous or harmless, because the sensors they employ are still not able to distinguish between different objects, some of which might be a dangerous obstacle, and others completely innocuous.
Also, autonomous vehicles are not capable of driving in bad weather. At this stage, the technology does not work well on slippery and snow-covered roads, as well as on a rainy day. That’s why driverless cars need better sensors and more reliable and accurate maps, to overcome these issues.
As far as full consumer roll-out is concerned, it’s tough to predict when exactly it will happen, but that day is getting closer. Some manufacturers, such as Tesla and Nissan, are pretty confident about their technology and claim that they will be able to launch a fully-autonomous car by 2020, but the most realistic observers don’t expect such vehicles to be available for purchase before 2030.
Future Market
At the beginning, it’s clear that the autonomous car market will be ruled by the company that will be the first to launch a driverless car, given how important first-mover advantage is, especially in this industry.
It might well be a company that hasn’t sold a singer car yet, given that tech companies like Google and Apple are very well-positioned at the moment. First of all, they have immense amounts of cash that they do not hesitate to spend on research and development of self-driving technology. Then, there is the fact that they are much more experienced than traditional automakers as far as software development is concerned, and that’s one of the key factors for safe, reliable and secure autonomous cars.
The Technology
The technology that is being used by most companies working on self-driving cars include:
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Radars – monitoring a car’s surroundings, tracking the movement of other vehicles and measuring the speed of the vehicle in front of it, as well as the distance from other vehicles and various objects
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Sensors – scanning the area around the car in order to detect obstacles that need to be avoided
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GPS – providing accurate positioning information
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An on-board computer that processes all the information coming in and controls the car’s brakes, steering and accelerator
Creating a Standard Set of Laws is a Big Challenge
On the regulatory and legislative action that is being taken in regards with autonomous driving technology, several states in the U.S. are considering various bills that are supposed to regulate the operation of self-driving cars, with California leading the way.
California recently proposed draft regulations, that address various aspects of the deployment of driverless cars.
The proposed rules require autonomous cars to be equipped with a steering wheel and pedals, and a licensed driver to be seated at the driver’s seat at all times, so that they can take over control in case of emergency.
The driver would have to undergo a training program in order to learn how to operate autonomous cars, and obtain a special certificate that would serve as proof that they are capable of taking control of the car.
Furthermore, driverless cars would have to be inspected and tested by an independent company before the state can allow manufacturers to sell them.
It’s highly likely that the regulations that will be established by California lawmakers will be enforced in other states in the future, in the same or slightly modified form.
In summation, it’s a fact that the number of challenges faced by driverless cars are decreasing at a pretty fast pace lately, so now they are expected to be ready to launch much sooner than previously thought.