We've been talking quite a lot about getting to know your vehicle so you can work as a team with it, make the most of the safety features, and continue to place emphasis on well controlled and skilful driving. But we've also been cautioning about the limitations of safety technology, and here are two recent articles that talk more about the challenges the makers of self-driving cars are facing.
Firstly, here's a great roundup from Wired magazine, summarising all the reasons why autonomous cars are slower to reach mainstream use than we once thought they might be. From cost to sensor issues, to a simple realisation that 'autopilot doesn't automatically mean 'common sense'.
And then, here's an excellent article explaining why autonomous vehicles struggle to stop for unexpected stationary objects - and may even speed up.
Here's part of the explanation why: "You always have to make a balance between braking when it’s not really needed, and not braking when it is needed,” says Erik Coelingh, spokesperson for the partnership between Volvo and Autoliv formed to develop driver assistance technologies and self-driving cars. He's talking about false positives. On the motorway, slamming the brakes for no reason can be as dangerous as not stopping when you need to.
We think it's important to be aware of the potential concerns with automatic technology, so we can all continue to understand and trust our vehicles, and know when we still need to be present and aware.
More on that in our latest module, 'Know Your Vehicle'. Contact us for more info!
