AutoTechInsight
Auto Tech Report - Autonomous Driving: Question is when, not if
Autonomous driving is a major evolutionary market force that will transform the automotive landscape.
The underpinnings of this long-term trend are already widely available in vehicles today. Current Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) utilize sensors such as radar, camera, lidar, ultrasound, location, map data, and many others to understand what is happening around the vehicle. Drivers can be alerted to possible hazards in advance, but ADAS is also able to predict likely driving scenarios and can increasingly react automatically to possible road events. As sensors improve and systems become more intelligent, the driver is no longer in primary control.
Incremental advances in vehicle automation will pave the road to autonomy, providing improvements to road safety, personal convenience and fuel efficiency. Despite the value of these benefits, several potential obstacles stand in the way of a future of fully autonomous cars. Questions surrounding liability, insurance and legality will help shape the future of autonomous vehicles as much as the potential benefits that will stretch beyond the roadway alone and far-reaching implications on personal mobility, vehicle ownership and more.
