The autonomous vehicle revolution was, according to its proponents, meant to have transformed daily travel by now. But they underestimated the task of developing a safe, truly driverless vehicle.
Tesla recalled hundreds of thousands of its vehicles because of issues with their self-driving features.
(Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Consumers need to be aware that none of the vehicles on the market today are actually self-driving — vehicles still require active supervision from a human driver.
Cruise, owned by General Motors, is one of the “robotaxi” companies operating in San Francisco.
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Between driverless cars, autonomous weapons and AI-powered medical diagnostic tools, it seems there will be no shortage of ethically-complex situations involving AI in the future.
Self-driving cars are programmed to identify and avoid risk, but in the case of an accident, who is legally responsible?
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As self-driving cars increase in popularity, the question of legal liability remains. The driver, automobile manufacturer and software designers all have a role to play.
Pedestrians are wary of autonomous cars, but they trust traffic lights. Researchers suggest driverless cars could communicate directly with the signals to make their own actions more predictable.
LiDAR helps an autonomous vehicle ‘visualize’ what’s around it.
Yulong Can with data from Baidu Apollo
Driverless vehicles rely heavily on sensors to navigate the world. They’re vulnerable to attack if bad actors trick them into ‘seeing’ things that aren’t there, potentially leading to deadly crashes.
The sweeping introduction of driverless cars could see more vehicles on the road, driving longer distances. But smart planning could solve some of transit-associated environmental and social problems.
Autonomous vehicles can only travel at speed at close quarters in the absence of human drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
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Self-driving vehicles that constantly roam the streets looking for passengers could overwhelm cities. But, if kept in check, these vehicles could be useful for improving urban transport.
A whole range of social and technological changes could revolutionise how we travel in the coming decades.
Car owners’ attachment to driving and the willingness of others to switch from public transport could confound rosy predictions for autonomous vehicles.
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Scenarios based on a survey of Adelaide commuters and analyses of traffic flows show it’s possible the congestion could get worse in the transition to driverless vehicles.
Would that it were so simple.
Olivier Le Moal/Shutterstock.
Planes, trains and automobiles produced a step-change in the speed of travel – driverless and electric cars simply cannot deliver such radical improvements.