Autonomous Vehicle Innovations: Can You Trust Autopilot?

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It is easy to train autonomous cars to be safer than human-driven cars. With cameras and sensors, they can enhance the driver’s and other road users’ safety. Much like how AI and AR have improved the gaming experience on online gambling platforms such as https://icecasino.com/hu, autonomous cars will enhance users’ overall safety and security on the road. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla – the company that was among the first to embrace the technology – said that cars that use autopilot can drive more than 6 million miles for every crash. With more refined automation, autonomous cars can handle more tasks, which include operating without a human driver. Should you trust this? And how safe are these autonomous/self-driving cars? 

Are Autonomous Cars Safe?

According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that about 5 million people die in car crashes annually. These statistics are kinda old, but the numbers are quite worrying. To help combat this, Google unveiled its first self-driving car in 2010, hoping to solve the issue by cutting the number by more than 50%. Since then, there has been major progress in the autonomous car industry. However, the government maintains that much must be done to make autonomous cars safer. In February 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a nationwide recall of over 360,000 Tesla cars that incorporate the company’s full self-drive feature. According to the safety regulators, the car’s driver-assistance system was prone to risks of accidents. 

How Do Autonomous Vehicles Work?

To better understand how self-driving technology impacts safety, you must first understand its elements. We’ll use the Robotaxi self-driving cars that California-based Zoox built. The cameras fitted on the cars detect and identify other vehicles on the road. They also detect pedestrians and other animals that give off heat. The cars also have lidar sensors and lasers that reflect off objects, generating a 3D map of the surroundings – night or day. Radar data also provides speeds of objects far and close, even in foggy and rainy situations. The cars also have microphones that listen to sounds, including emergency vehicles. 

Combining all the data gathered by these devices allows the onboard computer to see more than 200 meters away. According to Ruijie He, the director of perception at Zoox, this data gives Robotaxi self-driving cars the most accurate and up-to-date information about what is unfolding in their surroundings. Besides these elements, autonomous cars are classified according to different levels of autonomy. At the lowest levels – one and two – cars have partial control, offering the driver assistance. The vehicle might help the driver maintain position on the highway, stop the car automatically from crashing, or maintain a safe distance from other cars. “Autopilot mostly comprises features that make your car experience safer and more convenient. However, you must be fully attentive and always keep your hands on the wheel when driving,” Ruijie He said. An old video that has been doing rounds on social media shows a driver going at 80 km/hr driving a Tesla. Thanks to the autopilot feature, the car could avoid crashing into a bear that came out of nowhere. 

What Is Required for Autonomous Cars to Take Off?

Just like other technologies that preceded it, the introduction of autonomous cars should initially be restricted or limited. The companies behind these cars and the regulators responsible for them should focus on introducing them to small cities. The aim of doing this is to review the positives and negatives. Once it is a success, they can then be introduced to bigger cities following the same principles adapted from the controlled experiment. This whole process can take a while before it is fully implemented, but it is worth the time. 

We Are Not Ready for Autonomous Cars Yet!

Many experts believe autonomous cars should undergo training to be safer than human drivers.  With cameras and sensors monitoring and guiding, autonomous cars can sense their surroundings and anticipate whatever is coming up. This is one thing that human beings are not capable of. With a few changes, there’s no doubt that autonomous cars will make the world safer by mitigating human error and decreasing the amount of accidents. Until then, a lot of testing and sensitization must be done for humans to become comfortable with this technology.

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