Behind the Ivy - Spring 2018

SPRING ISSUE |  BEHIND THE IVY

Is the future of transportation as good as it seems? Photo Faustine Leung

S E L F - D R I V I N G C A R S TAYLOR MACHADO

26

Are you familiar with these films: Italian Job , Fast and Furious , The Bourne Supremacy , and Bullitt ? Iconic car chases are a theme that drives through the plot of every one of these movies. However, these adrenaline-filled scenes may be the last of their time. Self-driving cars will taint what we know of this concept. Think it stops at films? Think again, as there is also music: “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC, “Drive My Car” by The Beatles, and “Little Red Corvette” by Prince, just to name a few. We will soon live in a world where human-operated cars cease to exist.

It is a driverless ground vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without the help of human input. Pretty fancy, huh? Current manufacturers are working towards this outcome, including: Audi, BMW, Ford, Google, General Motors, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Tesla. Personally, I am left with many questions about this innovation that could potentially change our day-to-day life drastically. Even though these cars are said to limit accidents, what will happen if one does occur? Who is at fault? The driver? Car manufacturer? Software developer? A case much like this one would be incredibly difficult

to handle in court.

In addition, if cars will drive themselves, what will we be doing? Will taking away a basic everyday task make us more productive, or less? Will transportation become a productive transition between point A and point B where the “drivers” can have a meal or participate in a meeting? When you put it that way, the autonomous car seems like an incredible idea and a huge step in human evolution. No drunk driving, no distractions, no human error. Traffic congestion would also improve, since the more self-driving cars we get on the road, the higher the speed limit will likely be raised. This

Now, what exactly is the definition of an autonomous car?