What does the future hold for self-driving cars?
Whilst self-driving cars may seem like a fairly new concept to the motoring industry, experiments surrounding this way of driving have been taking place since the 1920s. Within the last few years, however, this concept has become a reality, with self-driving cars now hitting the roads.
The development of self-driving cars
2010 saw global organisation Google, step into the car manufacturing industry, revealing that its team had spent 12 months developing driver-less technology, with the ultimate aim to reduce the number of car accidents that occur on our roads each year. The organisation joins the likes of Microsoft, Uber, Tesla, Toyota, Audi and many others that have all invested in the development of this technology.
Despite its long history of development, this technology is still a relative newcomer to the driving world, and is therefore still in its very early stages. Vehicles are continuing to be adapted and developed to ensure the highest levels of safety for drivers, passengers and the general public. An incident in 2018 saw one pedestrian killed by a self-driving car which was being tested on the roads in Arizona, USA. This incident highlighted to the industry that the technology must be perfect before any fully self-driven cars are released to the general public.
We have already seen the progress towards automated driving within our vehicles over the past few decades. Take a look at cruise control that countless cars feature or self-parking features that we are now seeing in newer vehicles. Car manufacturers are now gearing up to release their fully automated vehicles over the next few years, with some first being released for motorway driving, with city (urban) driving planned for a later date.
In the US, start-up Nuro, will soon launch 5,000 autonomous vehicles, which have no steering wheel, pedals or side mirrors. The vehicle has been designed to be entirely unmanned, rather than carrying passengers it will be used instead to carry cargo for delivery.
With technology moving at an extraordinary rate, we may soon be seeing UK roads filled with self-driven cars. What are your thoughts on self-driven vehicles? We’d love to hear what you think on Twitter or LinkedIn.