Why self-driving cars are the next big thing in safety and efficiency
Drivers today who check their smartphone while at the wheel might be living dangerously, but in the future, multi-tasking while driving might be encouraged. According to the inventors of self-driving cars, by 2040 we could all be busy reading, playing video games or surfing the web while being chauffeured around by computer-controlled systems that require almost no input from humans.
It might seem risky, but technically it's the exact opposite. Google's experimental camera and sensor-packed autonomous car is legally roadworthy in the US, and in the more than 48,000 kilometres driven last year it had only one minor accident - and that was when it was being driven by a human. A computer doesn't get distracted by passengers or the radio; it can simultaneously look at a map and drive; and there's little danger of it misjudging the speed or braking distance of either itself or other vehicles.
With 1.24 million people killed each year on the roads, according to the World Health Organisation, and car use expected to quadruple by 2050, the reasons self-driving cars are being developed are obvious. Major carmakers, including Nissan, Volvo, BMW and Audi, have all unveiled autonomous car prototypes because they see computer control as the next big step in improving safety and maximising fuel-efficiency.
"By making cars more aware of their environment and giving them the on-board intelligence to make real-time decisions based on that awareness, it is possible to increase road safety, ease traffic congestion and minimise CO2 emissions," says Shanghai-based Drue Freeman, senior vice-president of global automotive sales and marketing at NXP Semiconductors.
"The benefits of cars that 'think' will be especially relevant in Asia's mega-cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, which suffer from traffic congestion, noise, pollution and a high risk of accidents."
The autonomous car will also be online, communicating with centralised citywide navigation systems to create real-time routing to shorten journeys.