Traversing the Risks in Technology Management of Autonomous and Self-Driving Systems

Visualize the Scene:

You walk into an aircraft, optimistic and cheerful, but when you look toward the cockpit; the colour drains from your face. Your breathing quickens, your heart beats rapidly and sweat prickles your skin.

This is no hyperbole of the common case of flight jitters. What you saw in the cockpit was a robot with autonomous control of the aircraft that you are now boarding. What will your next move be? Do you saunter in and take your seat or flee for your life? Your perplexing is no surprise, even an expert will have lots of apprehensions.

A prominent issue in the aviation sector is automation errors associated with FMS (Flight Management System). An indispensable system, it facilitates pilots in accomplishing a plethora of tasks like flight planning, navigation, performance management and monitoring of flight progress. Caught in the middle of a monitoring role, flight crew constantly have to be alert and intervene when needed. Not having been trained to perfection, pilots may not completely comprehend the automated technology. Flaws in the displays or primary FMS may pass as safe and ready to use due to a lack of human proof testing. Harvard Business Review investigates how automation is constricting pilots’ capabilities to proactively respond to fatalities, if relying on technology is exhausting their cognitive skills.

The Risks Autonomous Vehicles Pose:

Self-driving cars in themselves are a window to a brighter, less congested future where parallel parking wouldn’t classify as an everyday stressor and free parking spaces could be salvaged for recreational and residential purposes. Driverless cars extend promising commute to elderly and disabled users, making it accessible, reliable and convenient for all. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) contain the unfathomable ‘horsepower’ to metamorphose urban lifestyles. By suspending Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), these ground-breaking innovations are inducing safe, efficient, mobile, pro-environment, and economical transportation at the touch of a finger. Up to their eyeballs in Research & Development, movers and shakers have spent millennia investigating and developing advanced sensors, mapping and navigation control methods to initiate the first step: pilot trials. However, according to protocol, the autonomous vehicles must pass performance and safety standards before they hit the roads.

1.   Driverless Cars

Fully autonomous, driverless cars, just like every earlier disrupter, are still under rigorous scrutiny. Where accepting this technology comes into view, ethical and moral standards have prominence in deciding if users will shift towards fully autonomous, driverless cars. The first, paramount issue is that in the case of an accident with a driverless car, who exactly is to be blamed?

An incident involving a self-driving Uber in Tempe led to the death of a pedestrian when it malfunctioned, failing to identify that the pedestrian would cross the road. This is one such case where employing an AV could be detrimental in regulating traffic fatality rates. Where neither the passenger nor the victim is at fault, it’s baffling to decide who is liable.

2.   Driverless Trucks:

In transit operations, truck platoons drive-in closely behind one another, thus saving up on fuel and slashing down operator costs drastically. With automatic braking the reaction time is diminished to zilch, enhancing traffic flows and making tailbacks a thing of the past. The associated risks with autonomous trucking imply that truck drivers will lose their jobs in the near future. Not only are the workers’ very livelihoods at stake, but trucking company owners and investors will also go bust in the process of not fully embracing driverless technology, thus losing their competitive edge. A fall in the number of accidents, though welcome, will put insurance companies and truck repair services in a sticky position. The potential risks of hacked guidance systems and malicious software contaminating the interface of the autonomous truck can cast unfathomable risk.

3.   Driverless Buses

Driverless buses haven’t been as commercialized as say, self-driving cars, but a major form of commute for school-goers, work dwellers and university students, driverless buses are the leap in AV technology we have all been waiting for.

Self-driving buses and vehicles, in general, cannot function in severe weather conditions like heavy snow or rain, also unable to make sense of the gestures and directions of traffic officers. Though unable to detect swerving of cyclists, but fear not, because this is where Google steps in with its integrated sensors and algorithms to detect cyclist behavior. 

4.   Driverless Trains

To combat low unemployment or workers on sick leave or time off, autonomous trains and metros can function like a well-oiled engine, while also generating additional employment opportunities for unskilled positions. The prerequisite of training drivers redacted, operational costs dwindle. At the same time, the costs of control and safety systems are higher with automation systems which arrests the reasonability of any undertaking. Besides, the dissent of passengers and staff towards automation also present a significant hurdle. Technology can enhance safety but where human intervention may be crucial in some stances. Only time and pilot trials will forge ahead the safety of automation on trains.

Erzgebirgsbahn, a German railway company, has orchestrated the first pilot projects on driverless freight trains. Rio Tinto, a major mining industry, has initiated an AutoHaul project to transport iron ore to its customers. ProRail also has plans to launch its trial-automated operation of freight trains shortly.

Key Points to Ponder:

Gone wrong, this technology has the potential to escalate our problems tenfold, drive people out of work, aggravate global warming and carbon emissions, intensify bottlenecks and multiply the distances traversed. At the same time, coupling fully autonomous high-tech with energy-efficient electric or hybrid carriers would go a long way in stymieing pollution. Fostering ride-sharing activities will shrink the glut of personal vehicles once driverless become the new norm.

Where self-driving technology is brimming with panoply of advantages, on the other hand, it also extends a host of issues that need to be addressed at the earliest. Yes, this technology has the potential to curb roadside accidents and mishaps, but hacking, hijacking or overriding of the user's system via cyber-attacks remain a distinct possibility. Extensive testing and foolproof regularity oversight must be undertaken to defuse apprehensions of users and businesses alike.

A study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety contends that of all the mishaps that Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAVs) can evade, only a third of the actual volume has been avoided in real-time. So far, a thorough set of legal implications have yet to be devised and are de facto still in the initial stages of formulation.

With cyber frauds, an evident, plausible issue with AV technology, new roadway technology that paves the way for seamless operation of Level 3 (Conditional Driving Automation) and Level 4 vehicles (High Driving Automation) could just be the panacea we need. Smart roads will streamline processes by drawing on built-in cameras and sensors on boulevards and major highways. These radars and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors network with the vehicles, hence bolstering vehicle safety and security.

Local governments are already on the qui vive to capitalize on smart infrastructure. Ahead of their time, Columbus is the first US city to streamline self-driving cars, CAV’s, and smart sensors. Atlanta has built a fibre and electrical network compatible with roadside sensors and cameras for driverless cars. As cities begin to experiment with these novel technologies, the thorough examination of cyber-security concerns will become vital.

The acceptance of AV technology largely depends on the risks and copious management allied with it. Consumers need to see how the technology can be conducive to their environment, its risks notwithstanding. The first time man lit a fire; there was the imminent risk of him scathing himself with his very own creation. Moving forward to the modern era, the first time we sat in a car, there was a pressing question nagging at us: “What if this machine could be the very death trap for us?” Risks of any nature, in any field, are inevitable, but how policy-makers and automakers embrace this technology will be instrumental in forging a path toward a cleaner, safer future.