The Dilemma of Self Driving Cars: Will it be the future of Cars?
“Self-driving cars are the natural extension of active safety and obviously something we should do.” ~Elon Musk
If you have been keeping up with the latest cars released by Tesla, you are probably familiar with the term of Autonomous or Self-driving car. In layman’s terms, self-driving cars behave just like regular cars but with one exception, that it is not driven by a human but instead a computer calculates and predicts the course of the car and drives it on our behalf!
The concept of self-driving cars is an offspring of the advancement in machine learning, image recognition and integration of technology in the automobile industry. Today, there are tons of startups and companies that are focused on the development of this autonomous sector.
However, there are many problems that this concept is currently facing. Firstly, we do not have the ideal technology for autonomous cars. Ideally, a self-driving car is expected to be highly precise and efficient but as of now, this sector is struggling in the area of precision and is not at all the most efficient transport. Secondly, developing countries like India and China are not infrastructurally equipped for self-driving cars Given the high population and congestion in such countries it is almost impossible for an autonomous vehicle to navigate through the chaotic streets. Lastly, this concept is and always will be haunted by the ethical aspect of our society. Will a computer-controlled car willingly sacrifice itself and its passengers if it is presented with this impossible situation: To run over children mingling around their stalled bus in the middle of a blind corner or to drive off the adjacent cliff?
However, on the flip side, development in this sector is turning into a cutthroat competition between the top companies of the world. Because of this, we now have the concept of semi-autonomous cars. In this scenario, the can is controlled by the computer the entire time, however, a driver needs to confirm his presence every 5 minutes by touching the steering wheel. This concept has been implemented by Tesla and has turned out to be quite successful. On the other hand, the tech giant Google has plans of running a self-driving cab system and surprisingly it is currently active in Arizona, USA.
Layers of autonomy
Different cars are capable of different levels of self-driving, and are often described by researchers on a scale of 0–5.
· Level 0: All major systems are controlled by humans
· Level 1: Certain systems, such as cruise control or automatic braking, may be controlled by the car, one at a time
· Level 2: The car offers at least two simultaneous automated functions, like acceleration and steering, but requires humans for safe operation
· Level 3: The car can manage all safety-critical functions under certain conditions, but the driver is expected to take over when alerted
· Level 4: The car is fully-autonomous in some driving scenarios, though not all
· Level 5: The car is completely capable of self-driving in every situation
Credits: https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/self-driving-cars-101
These concepts have their own benefits. The majority of road accidents today are caused by drivers, but in an autonomous system, the very idea of human error is eliminated. Many people in our country have several health issues because they travel long distances to transport goods by sacrificing sleep. Such scenarios often lead to unspeakable accidents. But if the same job is carried out by an autonomous vehicle, it would be safe, secure and there would be no loss of human life.
Fun Facts about self-driving cars:
- Self Driving Cars have been around since the 1960s
First built in 1961, the Stanford Cart could navigate around obstacles using cameras and an early version of artificial intelligence by the early 70s. It needed 10 to 15 minutes to plan every one-meter move.
2. A self-driving car completed a trip around the United States in 2015
An autonomous car built by Delphi started its journey from San Franciso and after 9 days, it covered a span of 15 states or 3,400 miles ending its journey in New York City. 99% of the driving on this trip was done by the car on its own.
3. More than 50 self-driving cars have been deployed by Google on the road
According to the company’s website, its fleet includes 22 Lexus SUVs fully equipped with autonomous technology and 33 smaller self-driving prototypes. These self-driving vehicles can be spotted on public streets in Mountain View and Austin, and have driven 1.4 million automated miles.
4. Google originally had plans to build self-driving cars without steering wheels
When Google first announced its plans, project director Chris Urmson said the cars wouldn’t “have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal or brake pedal … because they don’t need them.”
The autonomous sector is taking new turns every day and there will undoubtedly be major developments in the coming years. So keep up with all the upcoming news on self-driving cars because it may so happen that you find yourself scouting a self-driving car to replace your current car in the coming years! Whether it will be for the good or bad is in our hands and we must tread carefully in this labyrinth of unimaginable possibilities.