Self-Driving Cars: The Complete Guide

Overview

The development of autonomous vehicles has been gaining momentum over the past decade, with significant automakers and tech giants investing heavily in the technology. While there have been challenges and setbacks, such as Uber’s decision to sell its self-driving unit, the potential benefits of this technology are vast.

Benefits and Challenges

Potential Benefits

• Autonomous vehicles could revolutionize transportation, making it cheaper, safer, and more efficient.

• The technology has the potential to transform industries such as logistics, food delivery, and ride-hailing, making them more efficient and cost-effective.

• Autonomous vehicles could save hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few decades.

Challenges

• There are concerns about the impact on jobs, cities, and society as a whole.

• The deployment of self-driving cars is expected to be limited at first, with robocars debuting as highway-spanning trucks or in taxi-like fleets operating in specific conditions and areas.

• Companies will have to figure out how to expand and navigate complex relationships with regulators, insurance companies, and lawyers.

Current State of the Industry

Key Players

• Waymo is a leading player in the self-driving car industry, having officially started its commercial self-driving-car service in 2018.

• Other significant automakers, such as Ford, General Motors, and Uber, are also pursuing the technology.

• Tech giants like Amazon and Apple are investing in self-driving-vehicle developers.

Niches

• Smaller players have already moved to carve out their own niches, such as May Mobility’s robo-shuttles in Michigan, Ohio, and Rhode Island.

• Companies like Burger King are exploring ways to integrate autonomous vehicles into their business models.

Future of Self-Driving Cars

Expected Growth

• The industry is expected to add $7 trillion to the global economy in the next few decades.

Concerns

• Regulators must handle this weird in-between moment when robots are good but not good enough.

Advancements and Challenges

Machine learning trains computers to detect lane lines and identify cyclists by showing them millions of examples. Before a robocar takes to the streets, its parent company maps its territory using cameras and lidars. Radars are cheap and reliable, good at spotting big metallic objects.

However, there have been setbacks, such as a self-driving Uber Volvo XC90 striking and killing a woman in Tempe, Arizona in 2018. The incident raised questions about testing autonomous vehicles on public roads and whether the tech is actually ready.

History of Self-Driving Cars

The first autonomous vehicle was the Stanford Cart, built in 1961. It needed 10-15 minutes to plan every one-meter move. Self-driving technology has made impressive strides, with radars, cameras, and AI making it possible for cars to navigate on their own.

Industry Developments

The development of autonomous vehicles has been gaining momentum, with companies like Ford, Waymo, and GM investing heavily in the technology. While there have been challenges and setbacks, such as Uber’s decision to sell its self-driving unit, the potential benefits of this technology are vast.

Autonomous vehicles could revolutionize transportation, making it cheaper, safer, and more efficient. However, there are also concerns about the impact on jobs, cities, and society as a whole. As the industry continues to evolve, it is clear that autonomous vehicles will play a major role in shaping our future.

Market and Economy

The industry is expected to add $7 trillion to the global economy and save hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few decades. However, it could also devastate the auto industry and its associated jobs. Autonomous trucking companies are raking in investor money, and startups have materialized to fill niches in a burgeoning ecosystem.

Niche Players

While the big names in this space—Waymo, Ford, General Motors, Uber—are going for ubiquity, smaller players have already moved to carve out their own niches. May Mobility, for example, is running or will soon launch (human-supervised) robo-shuttles in Michigan, Ohio, and Rhode Island.

Depending on what sort of service you take (and what you’re willing to pay for it), you might be blasted with ads tailored to who you are, where you are, where you’re going, and how you’re feeling. Creepy, right? Plus! Waymo’s robotrucks and more WIRED self-driving-car coverage Last updated September 8, 2021 Enjoyed this deep dive? Check out more WIRED Guides