One thing we continue to hear again and again in regards to coming technological advancements relates to the benefits of connected and autonomous vehicles and how they will drastically improve our way of life. No matter what your thoughts or opinions concerning connected and autonomous vehicles, 2020 will see their continued rise and the imminent deployment of them is likely in the foreseeable future.
It isn’t just for personal use either, 55% of small business owners believe that their fleets of vehicles will be entirely autonomous within the next 20 years while over half of all consumers would trust an autonomous car today if its safety record was proven to be better than a human-driven vehicle.
All this though makes one thing painfully obvious, autonomous vehicles are going to become more apparent and more available as time goes on. So it makes sense to see just how they might affect your life and your business moving forward.
What Are The 5 Levels of Autonomous Vehicles?
Essentially, there are several different levels of autonomy when it comes to vehicles on the road that offer mobility as a service. These can be broken down as:
â— Level 0 – No autonomy at all. Just a basic car that is entirely driven by a person.
â— Level 1 – This has some driver assistance features such as adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist. They offer a level of assistance but the driver still remains in complete control of the vehicle.
â— Level 2 – The level involves some aspect of automation, especially in regards to speeds and steering. They will maintain distance between cars ahead of you and center your vehicle within any lanes.
â— Level 3 – Here, vehicles are capable of driving themselves, but only under very specific conditions and with many in-built limitations. Basically, a driver’s hands can be taken off the wheel but they still need to be in the seat to take if needed.
â— Level 4 – At level 4, vehicles are now capable of driving themselves in most environments and road conditions. Very few human interactions are needed during the driving process.
â— Level 5 – The highest level of automation. Vehicles can operate on all road conditions and require no human interactions at all. There is no need for a steering wheel or pedals and the driver is turned into a passenger.
Benefits of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
When it comes to autonomous vehicles, the potential advantages and improvements it could have for the way we travel are seemingly huge. So, what are the benefits of autonomous vehicles?
â— Reduction in Accidents – Arguably the main argument in favor of autonomous vehicles is that they will likely make the roads a lot safe, reduce the number of traffic related accidents and therefore deaths. As 94% of all accidents are due to human error, making vehicles automated could potentially save a significant number of lives.
â— Lower Levels of Pollution – If the number of accidents drops, then the level of congestion will be reduced which leads to lower levels of pollution. In fact, some studies calculate that if autonomous vehicles become the new normal, we can reduce harmful emissions by up to 60%.
â— Prevent Stop-and-Go Waves – These waves are the result of humans creating changes of speed which leads to higher levels of congestion. If vehicles are autonomous then these waves will be avoided, reducing travel time, fuel consumption and the levels of damaging emissions.
â— Faster Travel Times – It is estimated that connected and autonomous vehicles could reduce travel times by 40%. This not only means that people get where they want quicker but also saves working hours lost through commuting and can physically impact and improve the state of an economy.
Challenges That Autonomous Vehicles Bring
While the positives do seem inherently appealing and desirable, there are many potential challenges to introducing connected and autonomous vehicles on a wide scale. The difficulties that are most prominent when it comes to automating cars right now are:
â— Driving is Incredibly Complex – Every single driving experience requires thousands of subtle and intricate interactions that humans have the ability to process and understand quickly that can be difficult for computers. Humans rely on an understood intelligence and general common sense that it can be hard for machines to learn. Cyclists, pedestrians, animals and any number of other unpredictable circumstances that rely on judgement will present potential problems for computers.
â— Cybersecurity – As with all forms of computer, they have the potential to be hacked. While hacks that affect your data, finances or look to steal your identity
will all have severe consequences, a hack or breach into the cybersecurity for autonomous vehicles could have potentially fatal ones. As vehicles get more complex and connected, it means there are more opportunities for hackers. These autonomous vehicles security vulnerabilities need to be addressed before they can become common practice.
â— Liability and Regulation – Say that there is an accident that involves an autonomous vehicle, who is liable for it? Is it the software’s fault? Do passengers need to be constantly vigilant and ready to take over even if it is fully autonomous? Essentially everything boils down to a much larger question, how do you regulate autonomous cars? It’s a problem that is potentially more political and ethical than anything else, but it is still an incredibly important question that needs clear and defined answers.
5G and Autonomous Vehicles
For autonomous car technology to be fully optimized, the large-scale adoption of 5G, which is the next-generation of wireless technology, will be necessary. 5G is expected to connect almost everything around us with an ultra-fast, highly reliable, and fully responsive wireless network. Seeing as self-driving cars use hundreds of sensors to operate as well as large amounts of software and processing power to make the vehicles faster and smarter, they generate an enormous amount of data. Handling, processing, and analyzing this amount of data will require a much faster network than the ones that currently exist in order to offer safer, more reliable services. If autonomous cars want to truly mimic the ability and intelligence of a human accurately and repeatedly, their systems require incredible data processing capabilities which can only really be achieved with the advent of 5G.
What Next For Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
Connected and autonomous vehicles have a long way to come before they become an everyday occurance. However, the potential they offer to people, businesses and the environment alike could lead to drastic changes around the world. For people, they offer safer, faster journeys that produce less damaging emissions. While in regards to businesses, they have the potential to streamline operational capabilities, see a rise in overall productivity and make the workplace a much safer place for their employees. While their full deployment may still be some years away, connected and autonomous vehicles will change the way the working world operates.
