In this blog post, we will look at whether autonomous vehicles will become the future mode of transportation, focusing on technological development and social challenges.
Autonomous vehicles, or driverless vehicles, are vehicles that automatically find their way to their destination without human assistance. Autonomous vehicles no longer require a driver. People will be freed from the drudgery of manual driving and will be able to enjoy their time in the car. As the car recognizes its surroundings and controls itself, autonomous driving is expected to greatly improve traffic efficiency on the road and reduce traffic accidents. Of course, there are also concerns that automated cars could be subject to hacking or that there could be a problem of liability between the person and the car in the event of an accident. However, autonomous driving technology is developing very rapidly thanks to the development of advanced engineering technologies such as computer science and electronic control, so the era of autonomous driving is inevitable. With the recent success of autonomous driving between continents in Europe and Asia and autonomous driving in urban areas, autonomous driving cars are expected to become commonplace in the near future.
It has not been long since the development of autonomous driving cars began. In the 1980s, the University of Munich in Germany succeeded in driving an unmanned car up to 100 km/h, and the European Union began researching unmanned cars through the Eureka Prometheus Project from 1987 to 1995. Since then, various companies and universities have succeeded in driving autonomous vehicles farther and faster, mainly on highways with relatively few unexpected variables. In 2010, it successfully drove 13,000 km from Italy to Shanghai, China, and recently succeeded in autonomous driving even in very complex environments such as urban areas. In particular, Google is leading the way in this field and is developing a significant level of unmanned vehicles.
The development of autonomous vehicles requires advanced sensors and software technology to accurately recognize and judge the situation around the vehicle and to control the vehicle appropriately. First of all, the most essential technology is the technology that accurately recognizes driving conditions. In other words, it is to identify the surrounding spatial information such as the distance or size of various objects or obstacles that appear while driving. To do this, advanced sensors, cameras, and radar technologies are used. When driving in the city, advanced image processing technology is also required to read information such as lanes and signs.
The technology that accurately measures the position and attitude of the vehicle is also very important. The absolute position of the vehicle must be determined with an error of less than one centimeter, which requires the use of satellite signals and various spatial information from the surrounding area. Research on communication methods that allow cars to communicate with each other is also crucial. Autonomous driving requires a variety of complex advanced technologies to precisely determine the position of the vehicle in the complex real-world space and to process this enormous amount of information to control the vehicle.
Currently, Google is considered to be the most advanced in the development of autonomous vehicles. Google has been developing autonomous vehicles under the leadership of Stanford University Professor Sebastian Thrun, who won the grand prize in an autonomous vehicle competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Defense in 2005. Google’s autonomous vehicles are showing very rapid growth thanks to the combination of Google’s big data, Street View, and various other technologies. In 2010, it successfully drove a total distance of 224,000 kilometers from San Francisco to Los Angeles. In recognition of these results, in 2011, the state of Nevada became the first in the world to authorize the operation of self-driving cars on public roads. Since then, in the 2020s, the operation of self-driving vehicles on public roads has been increasingly expanded in various states and countries. In particular, in 2023, fully autonomous taxi services were commercialized in California, and autonomous shuttle buses began to operate in several major cities. In addition, regulations and infrastructure for the commercialization of autonomous vehicles are being rapidly established in many countries in Europe and Asia, and the era of autonomous vehicles becoming commonplace is drawing near.
Volvo, a European automobile manufacturer, is developing a rather unique autonomous driving technology called platooning. In the platooning method, a professional driver rides in the lead vehicle. The following vehicles are designed to automatically maintain a certain distance from the vehicle in front and follow the same route. Vehicles that have joined the platoon can leave the platoon at any time or request to join another leading vehicle’s platoon. Drivers can see the destination of the leading vehicles and join a platoon with a similar destination to avoid the hassle of manual driving.
The development of autonomous vehicles is also underway in Korea. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has developed ESTRO, an autonomous electric vehicle. This vehicle receives information sent from sensors installed on the road to the central computer and performs unmanned driving. Research on autonomous driving is also being conducted at universities such as the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Kookmin University, and Korea National University of Education. In November 2010, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation succeeded in driving a self-driving car 4 km with functions such as lane departure prevention, stopping in front of crosswalks, obstacle avoidance, and passing through narrow tunnels.
Autonomous vehicle technology is advancing by leaps and bounds every year. Most technical issues are expected to be resolved step by step, but there are some concerns about autonomous driving from a social and legal perspective. First of all, it is unclear who is responsible for accidents. Since passengers no longer have to drive, it is difficult to determine whose fault it is between the person and the computer, or between the passengers and the manufacturer. In addition, since driving is done by a computer rather than a human, serious damage can be caused by hacking. Crimes caused by hacking can occur, and in this case, the fault becomes unclear. The opposition from the transportation industry, such as taxis and buses, and insurance companies, must be resolved before autonomous vehicles are commercialized. In addition to these social discussions, it is necessary to understand and empathize with the various benefits that autonomous vehicles provide. This is because autonomous vehicles have the potential to reduce traffic congestion, relieve driver fatigue, and greatly improve safety on the road. As autonomous vehicles are introduced in more countries and the technology matures, these benefits are expected to gradually become a reality.
Autonomous vehicles still have a long way to go as they need to undergo more extensive safety tests and infrastructure, such as suitable road conditions, must be in place. However, as technical issues are being resolved, the widespread use of autonomous vehicles will be an inevitable change. We need to consider some of the concerns about autonomous vehicles from a social perspective and prepare for the new era. In the future, just like in the movies, there will come a time when we can go anywhere we want in the world without having to drive. As autonomous vehicles become more deeply ingrained in our daily lives, the positive changes that this technology will bring and the excitement for the future that it will bring will only grow.
