1. Introduction.
What is a self-driving car?
A self-driving car (sometimes called an autonomous car or driverless car) is a vehicle that uses a combination of sensors, cameras, radar and artificial intelligence (AI) to travel between destinations without a human operator. To qualify as fully autonomous, a vehicle must be able to navigate without human intervention to a predetermined destination over roads that have not been adapted for its use.
Companies developing and/or testing autonomous cars include Audi, BMW, Ford, Google, General Motors, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo.
How self-driving cars work?
AI technologies power self-driving car systems. Developers of self-driving cars use vast amounts of data from image recognition systems, along with machine learning and neural networks, to build systems that can drive autonomously.
The neural networks identify patterns in the data, which are fed to the machine learning algorithms. That data includes images from cameras on self-driving cars from which the neural network learns to identify traffic lights, trees, curbs, pedestrians, street signs and other parts of any given driving environment.
What are the potential impacts of self-driving cars?
Energy and environmental impacts
A review found that private autonomous vehicles may increase total travel, whereas autonomous buses may lead to reduced car use. Vehicle automation can improve fuel economy of the car by optimizing the drive cycle, as well as increasing congested traffic speeds by an estimated 8%–13%.
Automation can help reduce the number of crashes on our roads. Government data identifies driver behavior or error as a factor in 94 percent of crashes, and self-driving vehicles can help reduce driver error. Higher levels of autonomy have the potential to reduce risky and dangerous driver behaviors.
ii. Increased safety.
Removing the driver from the equation will also reduce the element of human error in driving, which is the cause in 90% of all accidents today. A self-driving car simply will not hold a mobile phone behind the wheel nor will it exceed speed limits or drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Indeed, it is estimated that the large-scale introduction of self-driving vehicles can significantly reduce the number of road accidents.
iii. Reduced traffic congestion.
Platooning. Another futuristic feature of autonomous vehicles is platooning. This is when vehicles travel close together to keep traffic moving and reduce congestion. Additionally, because these vehicles travel close together without the risk of crashing, more cars can fit on the road.
Another possible change attributed to the deployment of AVs is the improved efficiency of the transportation system in cities, partially due to the reduced travel time cost and connected vehicle technology, making urban living more attractive.
iv. Improved accessibility
Because AVs don't need steering wheels or a dashboard, they can be built with wide doors and flat floors for people who use assistive devices. And AVs could provide a new option for people who are blind or have low vision and can't currently drive(the elderly).
It leads to greater mobility and independence of these individuals.
v. Changes to urban planning
They will reduce the cost of travel, especially for the disabled. They will allow minors to travel without adults present. They will relieve occupants from the burden of driving, enhancing travel experience. They will travel more safely, choose the route more optimally, and will increase highway throughput.
Self-driving cars are way better at maneuvering and can use narrower driving lanes. This means that the remaining parking spaces will be able to accommodate more cars. And the space currently used for parking can be used in new ways in modern cities.
They found that such lots could accommodate 62 to 87 percent more cars than ones for conventional vehicles. This more efficient use of space could lead to smaller parking lots, and possibly free up urban space.
vi. Enviromental impact
Autonomous cars use significantly less gas and energy when driving, compared to a vehicle driven by a human.
Most gas is burned when driving at high speeds, braking, and re-accelerating excessively.
Self-driving vehicles cut these factors out of their driving style, meaning less gas is burned, or battery power consumed, resulting in less air pollution.
AVs can intelligently interact with each other and the road infrastructure. The instructions that these vehicles receive from different computers allow for a smarter usage of the street through better route calculation and efficient road occupancy, subsequently reducing fuel consumption and cutting down on emissions.
vii. Implications for employment.
A direct impact of widespread adoption of automated vehicles is the loss of driving-related jobs in the road transport industry. There could be resistance from professional drivers and unions who are threatened by job losses. In addition, there could be job losses in public transit services and crash repair shops.
Contrary to what is said above, as the self-driving car industry grows, so too does the need for qualified engineers who have proficiency in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and self-driving car engineering to push this technology forward. There are jobs opportunities linked AV companies that can be created.
The future of self-driving cars, (also known as autonomous vehicles) relies on technology innovators and self-driving car engineers leveraging their expertise and resources to get the technology street-ready.
The key is having enough trained people to meet the demand.
viii. Changes to business models
Autonomous vehicles could greatly increase the number of rideshares and taxis in use. If you can simply call a driverless car to pick you up anytime, anywhere, why need to own your own vehicle? This self-driving possibility could completely change the way we live, from changing where people choose to live, to how older or disabled people are able to get around. Driving is a huge issue for older or disabled people, but if they're not the ones that have to do the driving in the future, they can utilize autonomous vehicles and still get around where they need to go. No driving involved.
Also, mechanics will be in much higher demand with the increase of self-driving cars. These vehicles are likely to be on the road all the time, going constantly. This means they will need more regular maintenance.
ix. More efficient use of roadways
Self-driving cars could also lead to more efficient use of roadways, as they can communicate with each other and make decisions that optimize traffic flow. This could reduce congestion and make commuting faster and less stressful.
x. Conclusion
Once the technology matures, autonomous vehicles are predicted to impact the automotive industry, health, welfare, urban planning, traffic, insurance, labor market, and other fields.
Overall, the future of self-driving cars is exciting and full of potential, but also raises important questions about how we want to shape our transportation systems and society as a whole.
References
https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/driverless-car
https://www.govtech.com/fs/perspectives/how-autonomous-cars-buses-will-change-urban-planning-industry-perspective.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-driving_car
https://greenerideal.com/news/vehicles/driverless-cars-environmental-benefits/
https://www.wgu.edu/blog/how-self-driving-cars-change-businesses1909.html#close
I hope you enjoyed the post. Happy reading.
With all these amazing benefits, it is the absence of jobs for drivers that I am worried about because this will really cause a lot of that.
True
But there are other tech related jobs that are linked to AV companies…jobs like a software engineer, technology innovators and so on. Even the mechanics will earn more because it requires a lot of regular maintenance.
There is nothing that has its advantages that does not have its disadvantages. But I still feel like it has more pros than cons and it does more good than harm.
I understand, but you know not everyone can become engineers too, I however agree about having more advantage than disadvantages. Cheers to a beautiful weekend.
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