Earning your driver’s license has been a right of passage for nearly as long as there have been cars on the road. But it’s something the generation of kids growing up now may never experience. In fact, they may be surprised we were ever allowed to manually operate a car!
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, recently predicted all new cars on the road will be self-driving in ten years. This prediction isn’t as farfetched as some may believe! Already a handful of car models can parallel park themselves with minimal assistance from the driver. And a few adventurous Tesla drivers have already traveled across the United States without hardly touching the steering wheel.
It’s only a matter of time before these incredible feats become a part of our day-to-day.
How Self-Driving Cars Work:
A complex array of cameras and sensors allow self-driving cars to perform their ‘magic’. Lasers emitted from the car bounce back after hitting objects and create a 3D map of the world for the car to navigate. Using the map and GPS, computers installed on-board choose the optimal path to the driver’s destination. More sensors keep a constant ‘eye’ out for pedestrians and other unexpected obstacles.
This is an extremely stripped-down explanation of how it works. And there are, of course, huge obstacles still to overcome. As we’ve all experienced, GPS can be spotty. Self-driving cars that are expected to navigate a disaster zone will struggle. Anything that obstructs the lasers is also a huge danger. Rain and snow will likely prove to be the largest hurdle. If that’s the case, it may be a bit longer til you see self-driving cars in overcast Lynden.
Nevertheless, these are more questions of when than how. Companies stand to make a fortune from self-driving cars, and they’ll find the technology required to make it happen.
How Self-Driving Cars Will Change the World:
Just as the iPhone changed the world when it was introduced in 2007, self-driving cars will cause a huge upheaval in our day-to-day lives. Smart companies and cities are already planning for how these cars will affect them.
Wasting 30 minutes driving around the block looking for a parking spot will be a thing of the past when your car can drop you off at the store then hunt for a place to stay til you summon it. In fact, self-driving cars will save you all sorts of time! If you’re busy at home, send your vehicle to pick up the kids from Lynden Middle School. Or command your self-driving car to pick up the groceries after placing your order in the Safeway app.
Moral issues must be addressed. An MIT project asks visitors to make a variety of ethical decisions concerning cars. Should a self-driving car protect its driver above all, or pedestrians? If the vehicle ever loses control, is it better for it to hit one person, or five? These difficult moral problems must all be programmed by humans into the car’s software.
Insurance will likely become cheaper! According to one study, self-driving cars may reduce accidents by up to 90%. This will mean less human tragedy and less money spent on repairs.
Conclusion:
Charlie’s Auto Body is already thinking of ways to remain valuable to you as self-driving cars become commonplace. Repairs are likely to become less frequent, but more complex. Our technicians of the future will likely need to be both a mechanic and a programmer – speaking a mix of car and computer.