Self driving cars are not right around the corner, the problem and lack of internet services in remote locations as well as unforeseen glitches plague the technology. One of the main hurdles for a self driving car is that not everyone can afford one. There is not an artificial intelligence algorithm out there that can compensate for human error, and the people who don't have a self driving car would be the main hazards of those that do.
What I'm noticing now is that some of the features of self driving vehicles is starting to be integrated into newer vehicles, there is a lane crossing warning that beeps to warn you that you have gone over the line in an intersection if you haven't signaled, there is an automatic slow down when travelling in cruise control and you come up to another vehicle and your vehicle automatically slows you down and keeps pace with the traffic.
There is automatic parking assist, back up cameras, collision sensors, airbag sensors, GPS monitoring, and automatic in distress notifications. Some vehicles have one or all of these features integrated into their systems depending on the make or model of the car.
There are a few exceptions that I have seen where a fully autonomous self driving truck delivers beer but these are just tests along long stretches of non busy highways, they are not in full production yet, but they are slowly getting more and more integrated technologies installed into them along with constant upgrades.
What truly troubles me about an update to your vehicles system, is when someone screws up. How many times has your phone been updated with a new system that is supposed to improve upon an existing foundation, only to find that your phone has completely changed and you don't know how to find anything? There is no manual and you have to fiddle with by trial and error.
Now imagine this happens to your car the night before you have to go to work the next day, you hop in your car and your settings are all different and there are new things that you have no idea how to use. If it were a self driving car this would not be a problem and your vehicle would simply take you to work, drop you off at the front door and then go park itself.
We are getting closer to the self driving car, but it's going to be a Slow Integration.
Scott Goerz
