Improved autonomous vehicle technology could reduce the tens of thousands of annual U.S. deaths due to human error behind the wheel. Are driverless cars the next big public health intervention?
When cars talk to each other, and their surroundings.
Connected cars graphic via shutterstock.com
Charging people to drive has been the dream of policy wonks – serving politicians tend to see it as political poison. So when federal minister Paul Fletcher raises it, that’s a step forward.
Taking the drive out of the car will change the transportation industry.
Shutterstock/Rob d
It’s a race that’s pitting the motor industry against tech giants and even the ridesharing company Uber. But what will be the impact when driverless cars take to the roads?
Some innate human features can only be learned through evolution.
Shutterstock/Christian Lagerek
New technologies do not exist in a vacuum. To succeed, new transport technology needs to match the ways we want to move around cities and be accommodated by laws and regulations.
As problems occur, rapid design adjustment will advance autonomous cars’ abilities.
Image of car with sensors via shutterstock.com
Two Tesla cars running on autopilot have crashed this year, and one driver was killed. It raises the question of whether the company’s autonomous driving system is safe for our roads.
Research shows people generally approve of cars programmed to sacrifice their passengers to save others, but aren’t so keen on riding in such vehicles themselves.
AAP Image/Rick Goodman
Driverless cars are the technology of the future, but unless they learn how to drive in rain and snow, they will be a technology that lets us down when we need it the most.
Crewed submarines like the HMAS Rankin might become a thing of the past.
United States Navy, Photographer's Mate 1st Class David A. Levy
Autonomous submarines might do for naval warfare what drones are doing for air warfare. So should Australia consider autonomous subs as a replacement for the Collins class?
What are you thinking? Robots and humans working together need to understand – and even trust – each other.
NASA Johnson/flickr
People and machines need to be able to interact and communicate effectively. Right now we – and they – can’t. But without that, we risk missing the potential benefits of collaboration.
Can software really be considered the “driver” of an autonomous vehicle? This is one question that needs to be resolved before driveless cars can hit the roads.
Why driverless cars won’t let us take our eyes off the road just yet.
Only the beginning: already there are cars that can take over steering on highways. How will things change once driverless cars arrive?
Beck Diefenbach/Reuters