While many auto manufacturers have jumped on the autonomous vehicle bandwagon, it’s not the be all and end all according to Argo AI CEO, Bryan Salesky.
Even though auto manufacturer giants, Ford’s invested $1 billion in Argo AI to help get its fleet ready for the future, it doesn’t mean things will change any time soon.
“We’re taking a pragmatic approach to bringing about fully self-driving cars… We’re playing the long game and avoiding the hype in our commitment to bring this important technology to maturity.”
Salesky is quite adamant that it’s going to be quite some time before self-driving vehicles will take over the streets.
There may be a few examples about currently, but it’s very early days in terms of the development of them and a lot of work still needs to be done before they’re safe enough for the general public to be let loose in.
While some automakers honestly believe the end of the century will bring about a big change for self-driving technology, many others are admitting it could take more than a decade to perfect the technology.
With the introduction of self-driving vehicles it’s more likely they’ll be used in areas such as delivering mail, acting as a taxi service, or picking up garbage first.
Salesky believes that most of the problems we need to get over in order to make self-driving vehicles a reality publicly comes down to hardware.
Two key examples of this are the shortcomings of lidar and the problems ultrasonic sensors have operating in severe weather.
But, opposed to stopping what they’re doing in terms of developing self-driving vehicles, auto manufacturers are more likely to continue improving the systems they have in place already.
Take GM for example. The auto giants recently expanded its cruise control mechanism to allow for an occasional “hands-off” Super Cruise.
Honda too has been at it and is aiming to launch a semi-autonomous highway driving system into its range by the end of 2019. Audi too will be looking to integrate its SAE Level 3 highway driving system into the A8 in 2019.
Even with all these auto manufacturers making these predictions, they are still only that at the moment. T
he proof is in the pudding, and until these cars have been developed with the advanced technology they’re expected to have, it’s all speculation.
So unfortunately, it appears Mr. Salesky could be right and it may be a while before we really see self-driving technology as the norm.
Original source CNET
