BERLIN: According to business analytics company S&P Global, autonomous or self-driving cars are unlikely to be available for general use by 2035. The company’s auto industry analysts stated that while a “world of autonomous vehicles is likely to exist eventually,” consumers will not be able to purchase a car that can “drive itself everywhere without the driver ready to take the wheel” anytime soon. Although Google successfully tested a self-driving motor in 2015, the self-driving sector has been progressing slowly since then. The serious malfunctions of the nascent technology have hindered the prospects of mass production similar to Model T or Volkswagen cars.
Developing systems that can operate in the complex and unpredictable world of interactions with human drivers has proven to be a massive hurdle for technicians, causing the progress to slow down. According to S&P Global analysts, the high cost of multiple camera, radar, and lidar sensors, as well as high-performance computer systems, chips, and semiconductors needed for self-driving technology, will make it unaffordable for most car buyers. However, taxi and ride-sharing services may be willing to pay for this functionality.
Instead of completely autonomous cars, the near-term feasibility lies in “robo-taxis” operating in well-mapped areas that have already undergone extensive testing, such as large cities in the United States. S&P Global predicts that by the middle of the next decade, there will be more geofenced robo-taxis operated by fleets in specific areas and more hands-off systems with various safeguards in personal vehicles that still require some form of driver engagement. In conclusion, the wide-scale adoption of self-driving cars is still distant, and various technological and cost hurdles need to be overcome before they become commonplace.
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
