Autonomous Vehicles (AV) are vehicles that can operate with minimal to no human supervision. They are able to localize themselves, navigate in spaces, and where applicable, complete tasks. The field of AV is interdisciplinary, involving tools from computer science, artificial intelligence, mechanical and electrical engineering, mathematics, and more.
There are many companies, start-ups, and researchers working on developing AV solutions. It is estimated the global market size for autonomous vehicles will reach $2.3T USD by 2030 (source: Statista). In this article, we’ll highlight three cutting edge applications of autonomous vehicles.
(Note: this list isn’t exhaustive. There’s a lot of great work being done, and it is at a rate much faster than what can be covered or written about).
Robotaxis
Autonomous vehicles have the potential of transforming how people get around. Currently, traveling from point A to point B requires manual human driving, whether by the traveler in their own vehicle or another person through taxis or ride sharing services. With AVs, that process can be automated and we can have robotaxis take humans out of the driving process.
As of writing this article, we already are seeing robotaxis in action. The start-up Cruise is offering taxi services for people in Austin, Phoenix, and San Francisco. They currently deploy a fleet of cars, rigged with sensors and programmed with various navigation algorithms. Cruise’s robotaxi service is limited to certain hours, primarily at night, because the number of pedestrians on the street and traffic is low. This is because self-driving capabilities would need to achieve more reliability to handle the complexity of urban traffic and activity.
Many groups are actively working on closing that gap and provide more robust AV capabilities. As the technology matures, we can expect to see robotaxis being used during the day and in other cities as well.
Logistics
Another exciting application of AVs is in logistics. At a very high level, logistics refers to moving items from one point to another, whether it be delivery, trucking, or warehouse / cargo operations. The potential benefits of AV in logistic include greater operational efficiency, speed, and reliability. Unlike human counterparts, AVs don’t need sleep or breaks, thus being able to operate at all times. Furthermore, AVs can be programmed with precise functionalities at scale and can communicate with each other, which removes the need for training specialized logistic labor and avoids potential human miscommunication.
Amazon, the giant e-commerce platform and logistic company, made many major investment in developing autonomous vehicles for greater efficiency and delivery speed to customers. Their warehouses boast many vehicles that autonomously move around orders and packages, increasing their operational speed. For example, they developed Pegasus, an autonomous robot, that “takes finished parcels from employees and sort them by zip code or delivery route within the fulfillment center” (Amazon).
Another example from Amazon is Scout, a vehicle designed for sidewalk delivery. It boasts a compartment for the customer order, features 6 wheels, and travels at a walking pace to deliver the item. Although the Scout program is scaling down following reduced sales numbers at Amazon, the existence of Scout gives us a glimpse of what the future of logistics can look like.
Smart Cities
As AVs become more prominent, the way we design and think about urban spaces will radically change. In a future with autonomous vehicles, how does car ownership and parking look? Some believe that AVs will take away the need for individual car ownership and parking spaces. Instead people will rely on robotaxis and vehicles will always be on the move doing some task. As soon as an AV drops off a person, it can transition into doing another delivery, then move on to another task, thus never really needing to be stationary or parked for extended periods of time (unless it’s charging). Furthermore, AVs can be connected to a city’s network, so traffic can always be monitored. This can enable greater efficiency on how AVs navigate the streets, as they can factor in real time locations of other vehicles and events. Ultimately, the rise of AVs will transform how cities look.
Cities are already planning for the eventual changes that AVs can potentially bring. This includes staffing offices dedicated to smart city development, installing sensors and cameras around the city to track and monitor traffic, and developing partnerships with technology companies for new initiatives. For example, Singapore launched the Smart Nation initiative in 2014, being a pioneer in developing smart infrastructure. New York City is installing thousands of sensors and cameras to better handle traffic and street movement. And Seoul, Beijing, and Las Vegas are partnering with telecommunication companies to develop 5G infrastructure, which can serve as the communication layer for sharing data from AVs and other technologies.
Conclusion
Autonomous Vehicles is a growing industry with lots of development. In this article, we explore three applications of the technology: robotaxis, logistics, and smart cities.
