Autonomous Automobiles

January 25, 2019

by Brook Lennemen, Emily Atkinson, Laura Luttio, Megan Davis, & Kaecey Ayers

History

The history of autonomous automobile technology dates all the way back to the 1500’s when Leonardo Da Vinci designed a cart that could move on its own. This was made possible by high tension springs and programming the wheel to follow a specific path (Wired Brand Lab, 2016). There weren’t many more advancements in autonomous automobile technology until 1925. A radio company publicly introduced a driverless vehicle that navigates its way through New York via radio signals sent from a car following close behind (Nguyen, 2018). However, the fact that a human being still needed to control the car from a distance forced people to see this invention as entertainment only. In 1958, a team of people from RCA and General Motors worked with the idea of smart roads. They created electronic circuits in pavement to guide custom made cars built for smart roads (Nguyen, 2018). However, due to the lack of funds and support this idea permanentley stalled. This lead engineers to instead find ways to try to make the vehicles smarter instead of the roads. The Stanford Cart was the next groundbreaking invention in 1961 (Wired Brand Lab, 2016). It is officially considered the first self-driving wheeled vehicle in the world. It is equipped with video cameras and is programmed in order to detect and follow a white line on the ground (Nguyen, 2018). Later, in 1977, Tsukuba Mechanical Laboratory tried using computers to analyze the car’s surrounding via images from a camera (Wired Brand Lab, 2016). They applied this idea to a passenger vehicle that could now detect lines on the street at a slow speed of 20 mph. An engineer from Germany, Ernst Dickmanns, invented what he calls “dynamic vision” in 1987 (Wired Brand Lab, 2016). This involved both cameras and sensors to collect data that could be analyzed by a computer. Several prototypes and competitions on who can create the first vehicle to span an 150 mile course have come about since Dickmann’s invention which really got people excited about the future of autonomous vehicles. Finally, Google decided to invest time in autonomous technology and used a combination of cameras, sensors, lasers, and radar and GPS technology to help a vehicle navigate roads and detect objects (Nguyen, 2018). With Google’s involvement spurring the interest of other major companies such as Tesla, Uber, and Microsoft, the idea of autonomous automobiles in the near future looks promising. Graph 1 displays the timeline for adoption of self-driving technology in recent years, and broadcasts the strides that have quickly been made from “passive autonomous driving” to the future of “complete autonomous capacity” (Caughill, 2018).

Core Components

Autonomous automobiles are equipped with a combination of technologies that have been around for decades. Figure 1 shows a basic layout of where each technology is placed on a vehicle. With these technologies, self driving cars can map their surroundings and thus be able to navigate through an optimal path to reach a destination while avoiding obstacles. Once this process is complete, the vehicle turns to its actuators which control the breaks, steering wheel, and throttle (Gilbertsen, 2017). The first step in this process is mapping the vehicle’s surroundings and identify where it is on a map. This is mostly done by laser rangefinders, and cameras. Laser rangefinders, or Lidar, shoots out laser beams in all directions to scan the environment. The sensor instantly calculate the distances between the vehicle and surrounding objects by measuring how long it takes for the beams to reflect and return to the sensor (Silver, 2017). Figure 2 shows the high tech components that allow the Lidar sensor to create an accurate replica of where the vehicle is located. Cameras are placed around the vehicle as well to help create an accurate map. They are able to detect colors, edges, and gradients which is beneficial for reading traffic lights, lane markings, and road signs (Gilbertsen, 2017). The next step, and one of the most important, is avoiding obstacles. Vehicles can detect an object’s’ shape and motion in order to determine what it is (Silver, 2017). For example, a two wheeled object traveling at 10 mph can be easily identified as a bicycle, not a motorcycle. Radar sensors are also surround the vehicle to determine how far an object is in front of you, behind you, or next to you. They send out electromagnetic waves which get reflected by an obstacle they hit (Gilbertsen, 2017). The waves tell the car how far away an obstacle is and how fast it may be approaching. Ultrasonic sensors are typically placed on the wheels and work best when the vehicle is driving at slower speeds. These are able to send out soundwaves from one lens which bounce off a near object and back into the other lens to reveal its precise location (Gilbertsen, 2017). These are essential for automated parking. Figure 3 shows a simplified version of this process. The final step in the process is planning an efficient path based on algorithms. The vehicle first determines a set long range path to a final destination. It is then able to navigate and adjust short range paths based on what the vehicle is able to logically complete at one time (Silver, 2017). For example, a car going 40 mph is not realistically able to complete a right turn in the next five feet. Once the best path has been identified, the actuators complete the process by directing the steering wheel, brakes, and throttle. Figure 4 shows an actuator and the different components that contribute to controlling the cars movement. Of course, other sensors are involved for checking weather, blind spots, surface conditions, etc. All of these sensor technologies are connected to an internal computer inside the car that analyzes the information (Silver, 2017). Each aspect of autonomous automobiles play a critically important role in ensuring the vehicle reaches its destination safely and comfortably.

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Diffusion

Everett Rogers identified five main factors that impact the diffusion of technology. These factors are relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability (Quan-Haase, 2016). All these factors are important to consider when predicting the diffusion of autonomous vehicles (AVs) into society. There are already companies who are testing AVs which has raised the question of when the use of AVs will be common in society. There have been many advancements and progress made but there is still more data that needs to be collected before the AV will be more commonly used and this timeframe is still unclear but may occur in the next 20–30 years (Shabanpour, Shamshiripour, & Mohammadian, 2018). Some of the predicted trends can be seen in the figure below and the presence of autonomous vehicles will most likely begin with the presence of partially autonomous vehicles (Coren, 2017). In regards to relative advantage, there are many benefits that are perceived by the use of AVs. Without having to focus on driving, commute time can become a time of productivity. The rider can work, respond to emails, do their homework, or even sleep. This increase in potential productivity is predicted to benefit the economy and contribute to saving $1.3 trillion (Umberger, 2016, p. 21). The use of AVs may also contribute to economic benefits by reducing annual car crashes and allowing better fuel efficiency which is estimated to result in saving $800 billion annually (Descant, 2018). Most car crashes are the result of drunk driving, distracted driving, and speeding and therefore, AVs would contribute to fewer traffic related deaths (Wiggers, 2018).

Although the idea of the safety that AVs promise to provide is compatible with the consumers’ desire to prioritize safety, some surveys show that people are still apprehensive to this idea as they would be giving up their control in the car. Surveys suggest there is an average of about 70% of participants who are concerned about sharing the road with AVs and 59% did not think that they would be any safer. In contrast, another survey revealed that 60 percent of millennials would be willing to ride in an AV (Halsey, 2018). There is also incompatibility with the current infrastructure and more data needs to be collected and algorithms perfected (Umberger, 2016, p. 25). AVs will need to learn how to respond in different and unpredictable weather conditions and their codes and systems will need to be regularly updated (Marshall, 2018). Mapping will need to be compatible with the AVs everywhere which will at first inhibit their use anywhere. Therefore, it is suggested that the first consumers will be companies rather than the individual as companies often operate in specific areas that will have the mapping ability (Umberger, 2016, p. 26). In addition, companies such as Uber will benefit economically as they will not have to pay for a driver and are predicted to save $2.63 billion annually (Umberger, 2016, p.22).

The algorithms and systems that need to be in place for a AV to function are complex. However, to the consumer, an AV may seem to add simplicity to their life as they can be more time efficient. Therefore, this simplicity will most likely be a positive factor in the adoption and diffusion process to the individual (Umberger, 2016). There are also numerous companies that are performing trials of AVs and are tracking their progress and making changes as needed. Some of these companies include, Waymo, Google, Cruise, and TuSimple (Wiggers, 2018). As people become more aware of the benefits of AVs and the trials that are taking place, they will also be more likely to adopt them. As AVs begin to be used by companies, individuals will be able to observe them and assess their benefits. Rogers suggests that if an individual can see how an innovation works, they can use this information to help them decide if they want to adopt this innovation into their lives (Quan-Haase, 2016). Therefore, if an individual can see the benefits of AVs such as their safety and being able to let your car drop you off and then go park itself, the diffusion rate may increase.

There is still progress that needs to be made in enabling the autonomous vehicle to become a norm in society. Mapping, software, and algorithms need to be perfected. Individuals will also need to see the potential benefits of AVs to help them decide if they want to ride in a driverless car. The economic benefits that companies and the government may receive from not having to pay for drivers will increase the speed of their adoption which will allow for individuals to observe the AVs and help them make their own decisions about adopting them (Umberger, 2016). The promise of increased safety and time efficiency will also contribute to increased diffusion rates. However, this may take time as people like to have control of their car and some people may even enjoy driving and use it as a time to debrief rather than wanting to use this time productively. Therefore, for individual adoption, it may even begin with those who have never driven. It may be difficult to change a behavior such as driving yourself as AVs are much different than adopting a smartphone (Cidney, 2017). However, there are aspects of autonomous control in vehicles used by individuals today such as self parking that consumers seem to enjoy. Overall, the timeline is still unclear but there are large economic benefits for companies which will be an incentive for the diffusion of AVs as they will be able to save billions (Umberger, 2016). This in turn may result in individuals later adopting AVs after their observation.

Societal Effects

When looking at autonomous vehicles (AV) there can be a variety of benefits. First, with AVs being the norm we would have a connected society. This refers to the “technologies that ensure communication between all contributing agents or stakeholders including pedestrians, authorities and vehicles, as well as infrastructure” (Bagloee, 2016). With a lot more research and data AVs would be able to locate other cars on the road and be aware of the things around them. Figure 5 shows an example of what this connected system would look like. They would know to stop if a person suddenly walked out in front of them or if another AV suddenly stopped. This would likely reduce or eliminate the amount of accidents that happen on the road each year. ScienceAlert shares that AVs “could reduce deaths on the road by 90 percent. That’s almost 300,000 lives saved each decade in the US, and a saving of US $190 billion each year in healthcare costs associated with accidents” (Crew, 2015 ). With AVs we would also be able to use our time in the car for other things. We would not have to focus on the road and instead could use that time to get things done like homework, work, emails and other things. It would allow people to use their time more efficiently and get more done in their day. Some stores these days allow you to order products online and then drive up and pick your things up. With AVs we could order our groceries online and send our car to go and pick them up. No one would have to be in the car which would allow for people to use this time to get other things done.

Figure 5:

Negative Effects

On the other hand, society could possibly be altered negatively due to the new autonomous vehicles and the technology that goes along with it for many reasons. A number of the benefits that have been the selling point for many to adopt self driving vehicles are also affecting other parts of society in a negative manner. People that identify as being a part of the middle class or lower worry about how self driving cars could potentially lose jobs for thousands of drivers around the country. When autonomous vehicle saturation peaks, U.S. drivers could see job losses at a rate of 25,000 a month, or 300,000 a year, according to a report from Goldman Sachs Economics Research (Balakrishnan, 2017). This is especially frightening for truck drivers around the United States. Truck drivers represent about 2% of the nations total employment, and over 77% of driver jobs in total. This could cause thousands of Americans without a college education to lose their jobs and benefits of shipping consumer products around the country, and being replaced with a more cost efficient alternative that does not need to be paid a living wage.

Another negative effect that autonomous automobiles could possibly cause would be the limiting communication between passengers in the car. Many people use their commute time to catch up with their family members or talk about their day, and with the new technology that could be at the fingertips of the owner of a self driving car the need for communication and focus could potentially be obsolete. As technology has already affected our society in present day, it is clear to us that with more connectivity comes less face-to-face interaction. If all of the passengers in the car do not have to be focused on the mechanics of driving, their attention can be in numerous different places.

The year 2015 was the first year that luxury cars were fully equipped with 4G LTE in order for passengers to connect to streaming services, social media and other online technology while they commute (Martell, 2014). Now that self driving cars are at the forefront of our future, people will be connected to other devices within their car instead of the people that they are traveling with. A dystopian view of the future was shown in the Disney Pixar film Wall-E where humans were shown as overweight, lazy, and fully dependant on the technology around them. One of the scenes shows two friends sitting in self driving lounge chairs while they video chat with each other, and they are feet away from one another. (Stanton, et al., WALL-E). This is part of the apprehension of many when they see all that autonomous vehicles can do to the passengers within.

In addition, a concern that could negatively affect the larger of society is how the technology of the car could be taken advantage of by others. In order for autonomous automobiles to be able to drive safely on the road they must be able to exchange authentication with other autonomous vehicles to read traffic flow. Eddie Schwartz, the vice president of global security solutions for Verizon’s enterprise subsidiary, described a million applications in the car industry alone designed for machine-to-machine communications with “potentially a million underlying security issues” that have not been worked through yet by designers (Hern, 2014). It has already been shown in recent years that a normal vehicles technology can be hacked and taken control of by car thieves with very little pushback. In 2014, a pair of researchers demonstrated on a Ford SUV and Toyota Prius which enabled them to slam on the brakes, jerk the steering wheel, or accelerate the car using a laptop plugged into the the diagnostics port (Hern, 2014). This leads the public to ask, if non-autonomous cars are already susceptible to hacking, how can a car that relies so heavily on technology be more safe against these potential risks?

Enhance

Marshall McLuhan “developed the idea of using tetrads to apply a consistent mode of analysis to different media” (McLuhan, 2013). The tetrad was arrived through a process of asking questions based on historical, social, and technological knowledge on the subject. The first question that is asked is: what does any artifact enlarge or enhance? AVs would enhance many parts of our lives. Looking at both a business and a family standpoint we would be able to use our time more efficiently. People can commute to work and be working on different things for their job at the same time. This could be things like answering emails, conference calls, or anything else that is needed of them. Within the family, parents can send their AV to pick up their kids from school. This allows them to spend their time doing other things. AVs would allow individuals to better manage their time and get more done within the day. AVs would also allow for more privacy. We would no longer have a need to talk to people anymore while in the car. When picking up your children from school one can just send your AV. This would allow for people to be alone in the car and would have no need for the small talk that comes along with being in a car with someone.

Obsolete

The second question that is asked when examining a tetrad in relation to technology : what does it erode or obsolesce? As it has been mentioned before, there is a very real risk of jobs being taken away in replacement of more efficient and less costly alternatives. Truck drivers are one of the populations that could largely be obsolete in many years and a full immersion of autonomous driving technology. Large companies will see the potential benefits of lowering their costs on truck driver salaries and benefits, as well as the technology to track self driving cars to see progress.

Another population that could see their jobs become obsolete are drivers for cabs, food delivery, postal delivery, and driving services such as Uber or Lyft. Similarly to businesses looking to exchange long range truck drivers for self driving trucks, all other paid driving services are looking for cheaper options. “Services like FedEx and UPS are looking to adopt a similar process, or even use robots or drones that could pick up packages and move them those last 50 feet” (Eisenstein, 2017). Society will now be able to ship millions of good around the world without the need for human transportation, making us completely dependent on technology to receive items to our doorstep. Just as we as a society have considered milk men to be of no necessity, Americans will no longer have a mailman, pizza delivery person, a taxi driver, or other personal interactions while traveling. We will be in complete isolation in our day to day lives if that is our desire.

Retrieval

Marshall McLuhan’s third part of the tetrad is retrieval. Retrieval is the idea that the content of any new medium is another medium” (Smith, 2018, slide 51). Meaning that technology evolves by advancing the older technology to create a new and better technology. McLuhan also emphasized that “previously popular media formats often give way to new technologies, which repackage older forms of content in a manner responsive and applicable to the changing information demands and experiences of their audience” (Quan-Haase, 2015, p.33)

When applying this model to AV, we can assess what we have once lost but now are re-finding with the invention of AV. First, there is the retrieval of confidence on the road. Johnson (2017) believes that the group that will experience the most un-anticipated impact from AVs is the elderly. This is due to many of the elderly seeking independence but are unable to safely navigate their cars. This idea doesn’t only apply to the elderly but it also applies to those who are disabled; such as people who have lost arms or legs. This allows for people who were once able to drive, to drive again. In addition, confidence on the road can be brought to those who are uncomfortable driving in traffic, a busy city, or find difficulty in parking. No longer will the car rely on human skill but the human can now rely on the technology within car.

Second, AV retrieves the ability to travel again. There are many reasons for this. For example, traveling in a AV will lower the cost of driving. No longer needing to pay for gas or pay for a driver. On top of that, Freedman (2018) adds that AVs would make long-distance travel more convenient and affordable. He states that the car will allow a person to travel through the night allowing them to sleep; eliminating the need to stop at a hotel thus allowing you to wake up at your destination with the additional benefit of arriving faster because your aren’t stopping periodically along the way.

Third, there will be decreased traffic, leading to a retrieval of time. Commuters can use AV replacing today’s taxis, Ubers, buses, and other means of transportation. AV’s would be readily available for “carpooling and ridesharers” with the convenience of faster commutes. With less people owning their own vehicles, this would reduce the amount of traffic on the roadways. Hence reducing the amount of time spent in traffic jams, bumper to bumper traffic, and waiting at intersections. The commuter can now use this extra time being more productive on the road or having the flexibility of doing other things verses actually driving.

Lastly, retrieval of space. For instance, “parking lots could be repurposed as parks, solar farms, retail spaces, apartments, or any of a number of ways that are more environmentally friendly and useful than a paved parking lot. Similarly, on-street parking can also be removed to create more room for traffic flow, bike lanes, sidewalks, or greenery” (Bowman, 2018). All-electric cars will help save city dwellers from pollution and greenhouse gases (Freedman, 2018). This could create not only a less crowded atmosphere, but it would also improve our environment and living conditions.

Reversal

The fourth and last element of McLuhan’s Tetrad is Reversal. This is described as when a technology is overused, it turns into opposite characteristics intended. Meaning, now that it has reached its full potential, how has it reversed the enhancement and what are the the unexpected dissatisfactions? Evidently, this will not be a benefit to all.

The most obvious impact will be on jobs. Specifically, it will take the jobs of the growing percentage of the 3.5 million or so American workers who drive a car, truck or bus for a living. On top of that, another million people drive at least part time for Uber or Lyft, and nearly a half-million work in public transit. Five million more people are employed in vehicle-related non-driving jobs, such as car salespeople, insurance agents and truck-stop waiters. As a result result, AVs could put about 10 million or more people in the U.S. out of work (Freedman, 2018). On top of that, finding new jobs may be difficult due to many of these workers are classified as low-skilled workers, with their main skill being the ability to drive (Hayes, 2015).

Furthermore, a consequence that may arise after a few generations would be that very few people will even know how to drive a car anymore. With the elimination of drivers, this would result in a loss of the skill of driving. No longer would people need to obtain a license for people would view this as a reason to not obtain the skill to drive. Consequently, laws will change. The question is brought up when in an accident or speeding, who is responsible or liable? There was an instance where a self-driving Uber killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona. This was an unanticipated negative effect. Therefore, there have been calls to slow down the spread of autonomous vehicles until there was a greater assurance of safety.

Regulators are now just starting to address the multitude of liability issues that would emerge from AV’s usage. In addition, this changes insurance. Insurance companies will take a financial hit due to the fact that the number of car crashes are expected to decline. Also, the manufacturing costs for cars will increase. This is due to the quantity and cost of the technology put forth into AV’s technology, Overall, this would result in a decline in car ownership (Bowman, 2018). Now leaving the AV manufacturer liable, this could be catastrophic to the AV industry (Freedman, 2018).

Finally, we see the benefit of its intended purpose to be that “We can automate, iterate and designate exactly where we want our stuff and how to get it there. In delivery, goods may never have to leave the roads from the factory gate to the front porch” (Johnson, 2017, p.3). This will eliminate how long a human is limited to driving during a day. With the elimination of a driver, there will no longer need to be stops in between. But there is a consequence to this benefit; this is extremely hard on the roads and bridges. Johnson (2017) states that this will be “quite a dystopian future of wear and tear that was never imagined by the engineers who designed them” (p.4).

Feenbrook Theory

Feenbrook introduces four theories of technology and society. They are determinism, instrumentalism, substantivism, and critical theory. Autonomous automobiles fall under the determinism theory, more specifically technological determinism. In chapter three of her book Technology and Society: Social Networks, Power, and Inequality, Quan-Haase defines technological determinism as when “technology directs and shapes social interactions and systems of thought.” (p.48). This means that technology has control over us and how we think.

Autonomous automobiles control where we go and how we get there. They lead us to depend more on technology and its convenience versus us depending on ourselves to get what we want. Autonomous automobiles will greatly affected the way we experience our world, especially when it comes to travel. Many people are turned off by the idea of driving through traffic, driving through bad weather, or how time consuming and time wasting it is. With autonomous automobiles, we will no longer have to worry this stuff again because the technology is doing it all for us. Traveling will no longer be a burden, but just another opportunity for free time get work done, go on social media, or sleep.

However, this idea of autonomous greatly impacts our brains and how we think. Our high dependence on technology is affecting how our brains are structured. Our brains are very malleable and filled with neuro pathways that are constantly changing when we learn something new or think about something in a different way (Williams-Carter, 2018). The more we experience something, the stronger these neural pathways become. However, these specific synaptic connections in the brain can also be neglected or weakened due to our brain not using them (Williams-Carter, 2018). For example, when we depend on technology to do things for us, we tend to not be thinking deeply. When we drive automobiles now, we have to be constantly be making quick decisions on things like whether or not to change lanes. We also have to have quick reflexes and be constantly paying attention in case the car in front of us breaks quickly. However, autonomous automobiles will eliminate our need to do this everyday and thus our brains will be rewired to not be able to think as quickly or deeply.

Overall the technological determinism theory is related to self-driving vehicles in the sense that they are autonomous and control what we do and how we act. Autonomous automobiles change the way we view traveling, but also lead us to the rewiring of our brains which can have negative impacts in other aspects of our world such as in a work or social environment.

Society

McLuhan’s tetrad model helps us to access, analyze, and predict the social effects of technology on society. “Supporters of autonomous technology believe that technology propels and alters the development of social structures and cultural values. Once the technology is fixed within a society, the corresponding roles and actions associated with that technology become more normalized, thus limiting the input of human agency” (Quan-Haase, 2016, p.47). Travel was changed by the invention of horse buggies but from there was obsolesced by the car which progressively has enhanced, retrieved, and reversed. “Cars delivered on that promise, and they made us a far more mobile society.

But they also stuck us with a slew of pervasive problems that haunt us today: urban blight, suburban sprawl, congestion, a rich-poor divide, a health-crushing lack of physical activity and enough pollution to upend the Earth’s climate” (Freedman, 2018). There are two possibilities on how AVs could potentially affect our society. If all goes as planned and as predicted, an increased number of AVs will soon be filling the roads with the ability to calculate their routes quickly based on where they need to pick up passengers and drop them off. At night, these AV will continue to work by sweeping the streets and delivering packages.

The goal here is to make having your own car completely unnecessary by 2030 (Freedman, 2018). Once this change in society happens, society will never be the same. For now, the actuality is this, it will take a long time to make this prediction a reality. Here is why, the combination of human skilled driver along side AVs will cause a multitude of problems to progress. If we are desiring to reach the AV’s full potential, human drivers would have to become obsolete.

In America, Freedman does not foresee this as an easy persuasion of the people, stating “banning driving could be a tougher sell in the U.S, “You almost need a constitutional amendment to take away people’s cars here””. Americans love their cars and for many, owning a car may be more of an emotional decision (Bowman, 2018). The biggest hit on society is the fact that “many lower-income neighborhoods would suffer from a lack of access to transportation options, with many dependent on buses to get to work or school. Since those neighborhoods will provide a lower concentration of riders who can afford the trips, car services may neglect them”.

Lastly, cities will lack their key sources of revenue from traffic and parking violations, fees and taxes on car registration, and gas. In America’s 25 largest cities, these revenues amount to $5 billion; although the numbers are far smaller in most other cities and towns, they are equally dependent on that money (Freedman, 2018). This change would affect society so dramatically that this change could never be undone. The dawn of AVs is going to disrupt and transform the way people get around. While there is likely to be a net positive benefit to society, there will also be unintended consequences to consider (Hayes, 2015). Overall, there will always be trade-offs with technology. There will never be a time when everyone will benefit from one technology. The question is, will the good outweigh the bad? What are we as a society willing to forfeit in order to advance and evolve?

Recommendation

Postman stated in his Five Things We Need to Know About Change Article, that there are both advantages and disadvantages to all new technologies. The same applies towards autonomous automobiles. A societal effect of autonomous automobiles is the fact that it will allow humans more free time to do things. Because humans don’t need to pay attention to the road, they can spend it getting work done, worshipping, talking with friends and family, or even catch up on some sleep. Also, humans younger than 16, people who are disabled or elderly would be able to go places with ease as no drivers tests or driver’s licence would be required.

Another advantage to adopting autonomous automobiles is a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions which is a result from a study done at Ohio University (Goldin, 2018). This is because cars will be able to be run by software alone, thus engineers can program the vehicle to minimize the emissions given off. One of the biggest benefits of autonomous automobiles is that the number of accidents will reduce greatly. A study by USDOT states that 94% of fatal accidents are caused by human error (Goldin, 2018). Because autonomous automobiles are driverless, car crashes that occur due to distracted driving, texting and driving, and drunk driving would no longer be an issue. The lack of accidents directly relates to less traffic congestion, another great benefit.

According to a report by US Energy Information Administration, 25% of traffic congestion is due to car accidents (Goldin, 2018). Also, because of the high technology implemented in each autonomous vehicle, it will be able to create a smoother ride and automatically choose the best route possible which will create less traffic. However, this is only most efficient when all of the vehicles on the road are autonomous, thus everyone must be okay with purchasing a self-driving car. This could be difficult as autonomous automobiles are expensive and cost well over $250,000 (Hackett, 2018). It would take many years for this price to drop to a reasonable, affordable amount for a middle-class working family.

The increase of adoption of autonomous automobiles would also eliminate many jobs for people. For example, school bus drivers, truck drivers, and taxi/uber drivers would no longer be needed. There are many underlying factors that could cause malfunction within the vehicle. For example, heavy rain or snow could cause serious damage to the laser sensors. Also, what happens when traffic lights don’t work or traffic is directed by a police officer. Would an autonomous automobile be able to detect these signals? What happens if down the road these vehicles get a recall, glitch or fail to operate properly? Then, many people wouldn’t be up to date on the skills to operate a vehicle which could result in more accidents and more traffic which is exactly what they were trying to avoid in the first place with self-driving cars (Hackett, 2018).

Finally, trusting in the technology is a huge factor in whether or not autonomous automobiles will be a technology people choose to adopt (Hackett). The thought of your life being completely in control by software and technology which could potentially malfunction or get hacked is not a pleasant thought to have in mind. And who is to blame when these vehicles do malfunction? The car, the software developers, the company who made the car, or the person in the car? These are serious issues that need to be taken into consideration when using autonomous automobiles.

Overall, there are both positive and negative effects of the adoption of autonomous automobiles. I would highly recommend that the individual should take into account these effects before adopting an autonomous automobile into their lives. These vehicles are not far from our future as high end companies are working on releasing more autonomous automobiles into the market. Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google states, “This has the power to change lives. Too many people are underserved by the current transport system. They are blind, or too young to drive, or too old, or too intoxicated.” While this is a true statement, whether or not autonomous automobiles will be a hit in our future depends on if human beings are willing to accept the potentially dangerous risks it comes with.

References

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