Whereas it once was an important milestone for people to be in possession of a car, this has now become a service that can be summoned upon a few clicks from an app. Do you agree?
In an article on online platform towardsdatascience.com, Prof. Alexiei Dingli says the rise of self-driving cars is changing the way we think about the vehicle, and at the lead of this ‘revolution’ are the combination of sensors, cameras, radar and Artificial Intelligence (AI) that are slowly doing away with the need for a driver to complete the process.
The possibilities and benefits of driverless cars are endless, Prof. Dingli says, giving a few examples of this, such as (1) using a shared vehicle when going to work, with AI optimising the route and guaranteeing all passengers they’ll arrive in time, (2) working on a laptop from a moving car, thanks to power source with a broadband internet connection, (3) being chauffeured in a private luxury vehicle from one place to another if you have clients visiting from abroad, (4) summoning a small vehicle to take your children out for their private lessons, with entertainment onboard.
In traffic-heavy countries, however, such a system of driverless vehicles would need to be integrated with other means of transport - it would need to be synchronised with the latest bus and plan schedules in order to ensure the passenger arrives at the interchange in time.
One undoubtable benefit of these cars would be absolute privacy, which would for example allow businessmen to schedule private meetings during the commute. Pre-setting the desired temperature, saving on the cost of owning a car, and eliminating the need to find parking located away from the venue, are also much-desired features.
But then again, people are still wary of self-driving cars, says Prof. Dingli. There is a culture change that these vehicles will bring that might not go down well with many. The gradual introduction of such vehicles to ensure passengers' safety and the process of letting people get used to them before ushering in the revolution will be key, he concluded.
In related news, the University of Malta has recently signed a tripartite agreement to research the deployment of autonomous buses in Malta.
Prof. Dingli's article can be read online.