While the first self-driving car took to the road in 1986, AVs, short for autonomous vehicles and more commonly known as self-driving cars, have become increasingly common, especially in the last few years. AVs have been increasing in popularity especially for their use in driverless taxi services, as well as an accessible alternative for elderly and disabled people. Some companies, including Amazon, have been implementing AVs instead of hiring drivers.
First off, how do self-driving vehicles work? They use artificial intelligence and a variety of sensors. Once they gather information, signals are sent to the car. These sensors are typically cameras or light detection and ranging sensors (lidar) sensors which are powered by algorithms and machine learning systems. Lidar sensors work by using lasers to create images of the surroundings, and then sending that information to the car. These sensors can detect pedestrians, other cars, road markings, sidewalks, and anything that you might encounter while driving.
Phoebe Parks (11) shared her first encounter with AVs: “The first time I remember thinking about a self-driving car was in this one episode of The Simpsons, where Homer gets hired to test out self-driving cars, and it goes very awry. There’s many things that they do in “The Simpsons”, and it’s funny, because they tend to predict a lot of things that actually happen.”
According to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) there are 6 levels of automated vehicles. Level 0 represents a fully human operated car, while level 5 will never require you to put your hands on the wheel. The majority of AVs are not completely self-operated, and still require a driver who is ready to take over. The most popular manufacturers of AVs include Waymo (Level 4), Tesla (their “Full-Self Driving” system is Level 2), and Zoox (Level 4).
One way that AVs are being introduced is through taxi services that are using these as an alternative to human drivers. Waymo is a rideshare service that started introducing their services in 2009. While available in many locations, Waymo operates close to Chico in the bay area. At this point AVs are not legal to drive everywhere, but in California they were approved on September 25, 2012, when law SB 1298 was signed. In 2023 AVs made up for over 9 million miles driven in California.
Some of the cons to using AVs are that their sensors’ accuracy decreases in intense weather conditions, different states have different laws regarding AVs, and that if an accident occurs there is not always a driver that can be held responsible. This leads into the ethical dilemma of who is responsible in a driverless accident.
Phoebe shared her solution to this situation. “It definitely depends on what kind of accident it is. So if the automated car hit the not self-driving car and the non automated car had the right of way, then the person in the automated car would be held responsible because it’s their automated car, but that person should be able to sue the company [that made the self-driving car].”
As AVs grow in popularity, we are yet to have a set future for what driving will look like, however the general consensus is that self-driving cars will become more common, and that the way drivers interact on the road will be impacted. The driving landscape will be an ever changing place as new technology gets introduced and improved on. Would you ever use a self-driving car?