Will Self-Driving Cars Ever Be Smart Enough? — TechVirtuosity
Artificial Intelligence Shows Promise
AIs are smart, but are they smart enough to trust in self-driving cars? That’s the question that many automakers ask themselves. As we see companies like Tesla push the envelope we are often left with a lackluster feeling.
Yes, some cars can drive themselves but no you can’t trust them. It seems to be the problem that self-driving car manufacturers put out there. This is also interesting given that Tesla currently offers the self-driving package at an expensive rate of around $7,000. But is it worth that cost?
AI is very promising especially as it gets smarter but is your $7,000 worth this risk? “ Tesla Crashes Into Truck — Link “. Let’s take a look at AI as a whole.
AI Helps Us Everywhere
By using artificial intelligence we are able to automate many of our daily tasks. It can help us with our online businesses, the internet of things, and even the construction industry.
AI has solved many of our problems and it continues to become more useful. As technology improves we are starting to see it in more places than ever before!
It can also create realistic-looking “ deepfakes “ which allows anyone to portray a famous person or objects. This will certainly lead to more innovative filming solutions in the future.
But that’s where the increasing demand is coming from for the automotive industry. As AI gets smarter we also start to demand more from it to solve even more of our daily activities.
The Self-Driving Demand
AI has a lot of uses which shouldn’t surprise us that there is such a push for self-driving cars. We spend a lot of time on the road each year, and according to this study, the average American spends 17,600 minutes driving every year.
Given how much we drive it starts to become an eventual necessity. As we age we are also restricted in our ability to continue driving. Self-driving cars could solve a lot of those problems.
But beyond our problems, there is also a race for automakers to be the first company to successfully create a trustworthy self-driving car.
Problems That Self-Driving Cars Can Solve
Our problems vary entirely based on the person who is driving. For some people, it’s important to drive and eat breakfast at the same time, and a self-driving car would help. Sometimes we have a long drive out of town and we need to take a nap. Overall, these are fairly common scenarios.
We actually do a lot while driving. Sometimes we bring our kids and we have to entertain them, maybe we have an overnight drive or we’re trying to read directions (though less common nowadays).
Beyond those minor problems, we also get the luxuriousness of it. The promise of having a drive date or eating dinner together on a peaceful evening drive, or simply just watching a movie while traveling. People have all kinds of reasons to want a self-driving car.
There’s a demand for it and automakers see that.
The Race to Autonomous Driving
There are many companies experimenting with cars that can drive themselves. We are starting to see some of the ideas through self-parking cars, which is great but still not “self-driving” entirely.
NVIDIA has created a commercially available software/hardware package to help companies build smarter cars. Tesla has continued to push forward in trying to lead the industry and then we have WAYMO.
Each company has their own goals but a similar endgame. They want to create self-driving cars that are safe and obtainable. WAYMO has experimented with a self-driving taxi service, whereas NVIDIA strives to help other companies rather than to create its own cars.
In many ways, Tesla has been leading this industry because their cars are known for it. When people talk about self-driving cars it’s usually Tesla’s name that gets mentioned.
With each company pursuing this there are also different definitions of what self-driving actually means.
There are Multiple Tiers to Self-Driving
There are levels that range from 0 to 5. Each level indicates what the car is capable of and how much the driver has to control it. You can read more details about them on the government site, but I’ll post a quick bit about it here.
- Level 0: This one means that the driver does all of the driving and decision making. It’s your basic car that anyone can buy.
- Level 1: The car can sometimes help with accelerating, braking, or steering but not all at the same time.
- Level 2: This one is an advanced version of level 1. It can do those things and at the same time if needed. But the driver must still pay attention and be careful.
- Level 3: Think of this one as training wheels. The car can do most tasks that a human driver can do but you shouldn’t trust it entirely, and sometimes it will still require a human driver.
- Level 4: If you get a car that reaches this level then you don’t have to pay attention while it drives. It can monitor the environment and do all the tasks of a human driver in “certain circumstances”.
- Level 5: This one is the holy grail of driving. The people inside the car are just passengers and never need to be concerned with driving. This is truly a self-driving car if it hits level 5.
With all this said, there are many questions on whether we can ever reach a level 5 rated car.
Can Self-Driving Cars Ever Be Smart Enough?
Are self-driving cars smart enough? Do they need to be smarter? Can they get to level 5? Manufacturers are constantly trying to reach new heights to achieve this goal.
Even NVIDIA is best known for only level 2 driving automation, which isn’t trustworthy on its own. Likewise, Tesla has proven that they still have a long way to go as well. Which brings us to the question if we’ll ever see cars smart enough?
I believe the better question is “when” rather than “if”. Several years ago it was a question if cars could ever be self-parking or more like a driving assistant. The fact that you can use a self-driving car now shows us where the industry is heading.
Even though we have to keep watch, being able to ride in a car that drives mostly by itself is a proof of concept! The answer is simply yes, but they aren’t ready yet.
Innovation Leads Us
It’s a matter of when self-driving cars will be smart enough. We have a lot of technology but there are hiccups. This is the biggest problem when dealing with cars that are autonomous. When a hiccup happens it can mean the loss of a life, which is why things are being taken slowly.
As long as we all show an interest in cars that can drive us around on their own, we will continue to see companies striving to supply that demand.
What do you think about self-driving cars? Would you buy one if you could afford it? Do you trust it? Let me know down below.
Originally published at https://techvirtuosity.com on June 13, 2020.
