The Self Driving Machine

by Mustang

The question is, why are we experimenting with autonomous cars and trucks?  The fact is that we’ve been experimenting with driver autonomy since around 1939, and we’ve been serious about it for the past 44 years.  The first self-sufficient and truly autonomous cars appeared in the 1980s at Carnegie Mellon University and Bundeswehr University (Germany).

Since then, numerous major companies and research organizations have developed working autonomous vehicles, including Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Continental Automotive Systems, Autoliv Inc., Bosch, Nissan, Toyota, Audi, Volvo, Vislab from the University of Parma, Oxford University, and of course, Mr. Google.

All of these companies and labs have made great strides since 2013, all with the approval of national assemblies in Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom.  Today, the robotic testing of cars in traffic is a solid go — despite 500 car accidents reported with automated systems engaged through 2023, 11 human deaths, and numerous serious injuries.

Has any of these problems prompted a moratorium on the testing of autonomous vehicles?  Not at all.  Despite the injuries and deaths, authorities are proceeding with testing 35,000-pound semi-trucks on U.S. Interstate highways.  At present, real human volunteers remain seated in the driver’s seat while computers operate massive 18-wheel trucks between Dallas and Houston, but those safeguards are only temporary.  We’re getting ready to “go live.”

Aurora Innovation, Inc.’s eighteen-wheel vehicles are part of a new class of autonomous “big rigs” plying the nation’s highways.  By the end of 2024, trucks operated by Aurora Innovation and Kodiak Robotics will begin traveling without human minders throughout Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada.

Meanwhile, so-called experts continue to argue that robotic trucks could reduce the time it takes to transport goods while freeing the trucking industry from the costs of human labor.  On the other end of the spectrum, some emphasize concerns about highway safety, job loss, the absence of federal highway regulations, and a patchwork of state laws regarding where and how autonomous trucks can operate.

Silence is golden, so driverless passenger vehicles and trucks can travel anywhere in the United States (by default) unless or until states explicitly prohibit them from operating on their highways.  That means robotic companies can test and operate their vehicles across most of the country because only two dozen states (including Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada) specifically allow driverless operations.  Sixteen states have no regulations specific to autonomous vehicles, while ten states have placed some limitations on autonomous vehicles.

Advocates of driverless vehicles say they have been frustrated at how slowly the federal government has moved on this issue — particularly given its potential to affect a massive part of the American economy.  Others, however, remind us that driverless vehicles have caused chaos in cities like San Francisco — including horrific accidents where robotic taxis killed jaywalking pedestrians.

Trucking industry experts have said that the notion of massive-sized trucks barreling down highways without operators is frightening.  When you think about it, it is terrifying — but the argument will soon become one of statistical percentages.  “Okay, this autonomous truck with a computer virus indeed wiped out an entire family, but it was only about .028455216 of all highway accidents!”

 At least now we all understand how the government intends to replace big-rig diesel trucks with electric ones.

See also the Washington Post.