Self-driving Cars: What Lies Behind Their Capabilities

Self-driving cars is a project started years ago by Google Inc. The idea was introduced in 2009 and Google is hardly working on it, hoping that it will be presented to customers in the near future. The vehicles will most probably not have pedals and steering wheels as they will be fully independent to drivers. While this may sound quite dangerous there is evidence that proves the opposite. The machines will improve safety as well as reduce traffic.

Contrary to general beliefs, autonomous cars will make the roads a safer place. There are and there will always be people making unfortunate decisions to sit behind the steering while being drunk, consciously putting theirs and other people’s lives in danger. Furthermore, individuals often drive while being exhausted, under stress or other emotional conditions that might significantly impact their driving. Driverless cars will have no emotions so they are much more likely to take the right decision in a complicated situation. What is more, when a machine operates itself, not being exploited by a human it will most probably last longer which will save on service costs.

The logical reasoning is that self-driving cars will also reduce traffic. Most of us have experienced this inconvenience which in some cases leads to road rage or other problems. It wastes resources such as time and gas. Therefore minimalizing the negative impact of traffic can have a significant impact on our lives and travel experiences. Google’s CEO Sergey Brinn has explained that one of the main features of the vehicles would be the interaction between them. He presents them as a “fleet of interconnected cars” which would provide a solution to the stop-and-go traffic. This connection between the autonomous cars will provide an opportunity for making the so-called platooning. Which means with the connectivity the vehicles would be able to drive closer together like a train. This will immediately eliminate part of the stop-and-go traffic and will increase highway capacity which respectively will cut on government money.

But are the machines ready to be set free on the roads? It turns out that there are still some issues regarding the coding of the algorithms the vehicles use. On the 18th of March 2018, there was a case that proved it. A Volvo XC90 has been driving for 19 minutes with no input of his backup driver when suddenly an object turns up in front of it. The algorithm calculates that the object is 6 seconds away, assuming it remained stationary. However, objects on the road seldom remain stationary so the algorithm continues its analysis conducting that it is a car that would drive away and needs no action to be implemented. At the very last second, the computer realizes that this is actually a woman riding a bicycle and to avoid any responsibility it gives back the control to the driver. The outcome is fatal for the 49 aged women. 

So the last question: who should be stated guilty in this case? There are still algorithm problems that need to be solved because they are putting innocents’ people lives in danger.