See Also: The Focus on a Sustainable Automotive Industry
Challenges of self-driving cars:
Road conditions
Road conditions could be highly unpredictable and vary from place to place. In some cases, there are smooth and marked broad highways. In other cases, road conditions are highly deteriorated – no lane marking. Lanes are not defined, there are potholes, mountainous and tunnel roads where external signals for direction are not very clear and likewise.
Weather conditions
Weather conditions play another spoilsport. There could be sunny and clear weather or rainy and stormy weather. Self-driving cars should work in all sorts of weather conditions. There is absolutely no scope for failure or downtime.
Accident Liability
The most important aspect of autonomous cars is accident liability. Who is liable for accidents caused by self-driving cars? In the case of self-driving cars, the software will be the main component that will drive the car and will make all the important decisions.
While the initial designs have a person physically placed behind the steering wheel, newer designs showcased by Google, do not have a dashboard and a steering wheel! In such designs, where the car does not have any controls like a steering wheel, a brake pedal, or an accelerator pedal, how is the person in the car supposed to control the car in case of an untoward incident? Additionally, due to the nature of autonomous cars, the occupants will mostly be in a relaxed state and may not be paying close attention to the traffic conditions. In situations where their attention is needed, by the time they need to act, it may be too late to avert the situation.
Radar Interference
Autonomous cars use lasers and radar for navigation. The lasers are mounted on the rooftop while the sensors are mounted on the body of the vehicle. The principle of radar works by detecting reflections of radio waves from surrounding objects. When on the road, a car will continuously emit radio frequency waves, which get reflected from the surrounding cars and other objects near the road. The time taken for the reflection is measured to calculate the distance between the car and the object. Appropriate action is then taken based on the radar readings.
The principle of radar works by detecting reflections of radio waves from surrounding objects. When on the road, a car will continuously emit radio frequency waves, which get reflected from the surrounding cars and other objects near the road. The time taken for the reflection is measured to calculate the distance between the car and the object. Appropriate action is then taken based on the radar readings. When this technology is used for hundreds of vehicles on the road, will a car be able to distinguish between its own (reflected) signal and the signal (reflected or transmitted) from another vehicle? Even if multiple radio frequencies are available for radar, this frequency range is unlikely to be insufficient for all the vehicles manufactured.
Opportunities
Unmanned systems and technology firms will have several AV opportunities. Car technology accounts for 4%–5% of its value. AVs will boost this to 40%–60%.AV companies are few, but many more may be. Market and technology opportunities:
- All AVs need sensors to “see” and avoid other vehicles, people, and road infrastructure. AVs use image processing, LiDAR, and radar
- Operating systems, data collecting, data fusion, driving algorithms, artificial intelligence, and vehicle-occupant interface require software
- Future cars and self-driving cars have several communications needs. These include updating maps, software, road, and meteorological data. AVs will upload traffic, infrastructural, weather, and vehicle data. Current mobile phone technology (including 5G in the future), dedicated short-range communications (DSRC – designed for vehicular operations), Wi-Fi, satellite, etc.
- Business and leisure Internet use will rise as people spend more time in their automobiles without driving
- Vehicle communications will increasingly incorporate smartphones
- Customizable glass dashboards. Tested prototypes
