Autonomous cars, as an idea, had its humble beginnings back in the 1990s. Additionally, back in 1925, Francis Houdina, a New York-based electrical engineer was the first person to materialize the concept of an autonomous vehicle. However, Houdina’s concept vehicle was remotely controlled.
In the past few decades, the overall popularity of autonomous vehicle technology has touched new heights. However, autonomous vehicles are yet to become the norm for the masses.
Why?
Well, there are several challenges associated with autonomous vehicle technology. The sections below will highlight some of those issues.
Before that, let’s first learn what exactly autonomous car technology is.
So what exactly is autonomous car technology?
Autonomous car technology allows a modern-day vehicle to drive itself without any human input.
Autonomous vehicle technology is also known as driverless, robotic, and self-driving car technology. Autonomous cars rely on an array of technologies such as LIDAR, RaDAR, cameras, ultrasonic sensors, GPS, inertial sensors, etc. The goal of developing autonomous vehicle technology was to make roads safer, reduce gridlocks, and make transportation efficient.
What are the problems with autonomous car technology?
Even after decades of development, research, and investments worth billions of dollars, autonomous vehicles are still frowned upon by many.
Why?
Autonomous car technology is riddled with hard-to-ignore problems and some of them are mentioned in the sections below.
Autonomous vehicle sensor reliability and accuracy are still an issue
Self-driving cars rely on a bunch of sensors.
However, even after decades, the sensors and the software bundles that decode the raw data into usable data are still unreliable. One of the best examples of autonomous technology failing can be often seen on the news.
For instance, Tesla recalled nearly all of its vehicles due to instances of autopilot failures back in Dec 2023. Cruise self-driving cars fail to recognize children on the roads. As per several online news articles published back in 2023, driverless Cruise cars were unable to detect large holes on the road. Additionally, the software bundles inside Cruise driverless cars are also unable to distinguish children in certain situations. It means that driverless cars are at risk of either driving into holes or hitting children!
Until sensors equipped on driverless cars and the software bundles running in the background are made glitch-free, autonomous car technology is not going anywhere.
Autonomous vehicles will demand a brand-new set of traffic laws
The rules that apply to self-driving cars are entirely different than those applicable to normal cars.
For instance, in California, a self-driving car might receive parking citations. However, the state authorities seem to turn a blind eye when a driverless car violates the rules of the road.
To make self-driving cars the norm, governments around the world would need to come up with new sets of traffic laws. Additionally, existing rules and regulations would also need to be revised. This will ensure that people who were somehow negatively affected by self-driving cars will be compensated. These steps are yet to be taken and until that happen, people will avoid autonomous cars.
That’s the reality.
Automotive OEMs need to collaborate to make the technology a success
Autonomous car technology companies are trying their best to keep their respective technologies protected. This is one of the main reasons why development in the sector has been so slow. To develop the technology by leaps and bounds, OEMs would need to join forces with third-party or dedicated suppliers. Autonomous vehicle technology companies and infrastructure providers need to work together in a bid to formulate effective solutions for pertinent challenges. This is the only way to ensure that the technology at least becomes accessible to all in the future.
Autonomous vehicles should be able to collect huge amounts of data
To make self-driving cars the norm, both the vehicles and the infrastructures that would support them should be able to collect huge amounts of pertinent data.
What kind of data collection are we talking about here?
Well, to make people trust autonomous vehicles, the latter need to perform as they should. And to function properly, autonomous vehicles need troves of data from surroundings, and the people riding the vehicles.
Additionally, autonomous vehicle technology companies would need to develop systems that could support the collection, processing, analysis, and storage of data their vehicles collect. This is pretty challenging to implement and at the same time, extremely expensive.
Hence, slow progress in this aspect is a natural outcome.
There are quite a few cyber security risks associated with autonomous vehicles
Data is the new currency of the connected world we live in.
If an ill-doer has access to your financial or personal data, financial ruin and damaged reputation are natural outcomes. Think what would happen if a group of ill-doers gains access to the data self-driving cars are streaming continuously over the air.
If autonomous car technology is the future, next-level cyber security measures have to be developed and implemented. Data security regulations have to be formulated and implemented in the legal systems around the world.
Until people are reassured that their data will not be accessible to criminals, large-scale adoption of autonomous vehicles is merely wishful thinking, to be honest.
The future of autonomous car technology is bright but…
Autonomous vehicle technology is still in its nascent stages. Before it can become the norm, the issues mentioned above should be sorted out. The pressing issue with autonomous vehicle technology is data security. Additionally, autonomous vehicle software and sensors need to be made free from issues.
With that stated, if you are one of the early adopters of autonomous vehicles such as a Tesla Model Y, make sure that you equip the vehicle with the best car tracker.
Why?
Car tracker devices have come a long way.
For instance, GPS tracker for vehicles does more than track cars. Tracker device for vehicles are categorized these days as connected vehicle solutions. It means that one can take their vehicle online with a car GPS tracker.
In simple words, one can use the app that came with the connected vehicle solution and track their vehicle’s health. Additionally, one can even set geozones around their vehicle’s parking space to prevent unauthorized towing. A car tracker device can also protect your vehicle from theft.
Think about it.