Autonomous Car Development: Are Recent Events Roadblocks or Bumps in the Road?
The autonomous car world has buzzed with the recent announcements of crashes and a fatality related to the semi-autonomous Tesla Model S. This comes at a time when regulatory efforts surrounding autonomous vehicle operations in the U.S. are pushing decisions from Washington D.C. over standardization of technology to encourage faster evolution of autonomous cars. Last week, I posted a blog on this topic. (the article is free, but may require registration).
The concern within the industry is that the recent crashes will derail the overall development of autonomous vehicles, or at the very least significant impede progress. It is very tragic to hear of a life lost from an Autopilot operation, and my heart goes out to the family of the driver. However, I sincerely hope that the industry continues to push for safer alternatives to human driving, whether this will lead to autonomous passenger cars in the next decade or not until after 2025. Having driven over 200 miles this weekend for leisurely pursuits, I am struck by the increasingly risky behaviors I observe on the interstates around me (Disclaimer: I live in Massachusetts, which may skew my perceptions, given our propensity for aggressive driving). Numerous times I observed cars exceeding the speed limit by 20+ MPH, swerving in and out of lanes without using signals, and twice I was almost side-swiped when a car sped into my lane, seemingly from nowhere.
Now, this last example is something that can already be solved with some of the semi-autonomous technology that is available in many new cars today - lane change assist. In addition, there are a number of other excellent technologies that in essence move today's connected car toward autonomy, known as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). In fact, a consortium of the leading automotive OEMs worked together to make auto-braking, a category of ADAS, mandatory in all new U.S. vehicles by 2022. Another recent blog expands on this topic.
How should the industry work together with national regulators to ensure that autonomous vehicles continue their development while at the same time improve safety on the roads? I believe that the owners of autonomous technologies (automotive OEM's, major components suppliers, technology companies that are developing autonomous vehicles) need to share their data around how the cars are interacting in their environments. What was the Model S "thinking" when that fatal crash occured? What type of decisions is a semi-autonomous car making when it loses sight of road lines, or can't identify an obstacle?
I understand these different players are competitors, and that there are trade secrets in the way each is developing the cognitive systems that operate the car. However, if there is not some form of data and experience sharing around the autonomous vehicle behavior in the real world, the further development of the technology will take years longer before it can be trusted. And, it is highly likely that during this time the general public sentiment may swing decidedly toward NOT being fans of autonomous vehicles. Then, the industry will have a much bigger problem on its hands.
B2B digital transformational coach working with your Marketing and Sales teams to implement their strategy to deliver growth.
8 年Heather – thanks for a interesting and very relevant post. I totally agree with you that that collaboration across the industry , including the suppliers, is key the success. Safety AND security are key enables to the success of autonomous cars and should not been seen as a competitive advantage. In other industries like aerospace and the industry where I am , Telecoms, safety and security information is shared on a regular basis – it 's the only way we can ensure a secure environment for our customers and our products
IITian :-) , Digital Transformation Consultant, Agile coach, CSPO, Web / Mobile Apps, IOT, After Market, Cybersecurity and Business Continuity Process Management Systems, Redsling Solutions Partner
8 年planes have crashed , ships have sunk , spacecrafts have burst mid air..., even after years of perfecting, because nothing is perfect. these technologies are not even a decade old, so we have to take the bitter pill. It is still lesser than the loss of lives taken by the gun...
General Partner at AI Reliance
8 年thanks, Heather - I too am saddened by the loss of life but self-driving cars will save lives in the (hopefully not too distant) future. You probably know the stats better than I but something like 30,000 die on the roads in the US each year, with 90+% of those due to human error. Factor in alcohol and drug use (which is probably increasing) and the plain simple truth is that humans are lousy drivers. Let the robots do it, and give us our lives (and livelihood) back. My daughter is getting her license in 5 years and I hope she never has to get behind the wheel of a human-driven car, it's just too risky.