Perreault Magazine - 83 -
The most powerful accelerant driving self-driving vehicles forward is the fact that the technological infrastructure supporting these vehicles is rapidly improving. Nvidia and others are building better and more affordable sensors and radar systems; GPS satellite technology is becoming more ubiquitous and affordable, and the growing prevalence of “The Internet of Things” is making the physical infrastructure of roads and bridges more intelligent. Combine these trends with the startling progress being made in the field of artificial intelligence and it is obvious that soon every autonomous car will be able to share everything it learns with every other robotic vehicle in the world.
More than anything this powerful auto-catalytic process–which will make robotic cars radically smarter and more intuitive than even the best human driver–will convince the public and regulators that self-driving cars are the wisest thing society can do if it wants to minimize road deaths and accidents; reduce traffic congestion; and limit the environmental impact of automobiles.
Jack Uldrich is a leading transportation and urban futurist. He is the author of 11 books, including Foresight 2020:
A Futurist Explores the Trends Transforming Tomorrow.