Writing The Rules For Autonomous Vehicles

In their rush to market, autonomous vehicle makers are trying to solve the wrong problem. Adapting autonomous cars to a human driving environment is as difficult as it was to accommodate the first conventional cars

Self-driving vehicles are a good idea. Why? Because a world that invests enormous amounts of energy and precious resources building complex machines that spend most of their lives doing nothing is hardly on the path to sustainability. Last year, analyst Statista reported that, manufacturers assembled 94.7 million light vehicles (cars and vans), and that number is expected to grow to 111.7 million by 2023. This growth is driven in large part by Chinese and Indian middle classes as they look for ways to spend their new wealth. And yet, in the US at least, cars do little more than adorn the drives of suburban homes, spending just eight per cent of the time moving people from point A to B.

Even while doing the job for which they are designed, vehicles with a conventional (internal combustion) engine go about it in a compromised manner. According to The Atlantic, more than 80 per cent of the energy derived from gasoline is squandered by a car’s inefficiencies. There is nothing else in our lives that wastes more energy— or even comes close. Electric vehicles are far more mechanically efficient but still consume considerable energy in their construction, generate carbon during operation (unless the electricity for recharging has come from renewable sources) and are just as likely as conventional autos to sit idle in the garage.

There are signs that the latest generation of would-be drivers is indeed questioning the insanity of buying the most under-used asset they will ever own and paying around US$ 13,000 a year for the privilege. Moreover, young people find that online shopping, on demand TV and social media enables them to do many things for which previous generations needed a car. Furthermore, majority of young people live in cities where congestion, lack of parking and resurgent public transport systems conspire to keep them off the road.