Autonomous mass transit vehicles like ‘trackless trams’ are a better bet than autonomous cars to give us people-friendly cities that capture the value created by infrastructure for the common good.
Paul Salmon, University of the Sunshine Coast; Peter Hancock, University of Central Florida, dan Tony Carden, University of the Sunshine Coast
We’re on the road to developing artificial intelligence systems that will be able to do tasks beyond those they were designed for. But will we be able to control them?
The autonomous rail rapid transit (ART) system developed in China might make buses sexy, but the technology alone won’t resolve the issues of road space and right of way in Australia.
The arrival of autonomous vehicles would ideally reduce the number of cars on our roads. But this is a pipe dream without a robust public transport system and willingness to share.
To cut emissions within the 12 years or so we have left to avoid disastrous global warming, we will need to change our old transport habits, using a combination of strategies to achieve this.
One-third of roads in the U.S. are unpaved; plenty more have faded or obscured road markings. Today’s self-driving vehicles can’t go on them, and will need new algorithms to handle those conditions.
The spread of ride-hailing services and autonomous vehicles will lead to higher energy demand, a study finds. Electric vehicles and a much cleaner grid are the only way to avoid more emissions.
For 40 years the author has argued that trains and trams are better than buses. New ‘trackless trams’, which take innovations from high speed rail and put them in a bus, have changed his mind.
Humans are poor at remaining vigilant over time. That’s bad news for the safety of partially automated cars, which sometimes need the person behind the wheel to quickly take over control.
Autonomous cars need to learn how to drive just like people do: with real-world practice on public roads. It’s key to safety, and to public confidence in the new technologies.