×

We’re closer to self-driving cars

Like it or not, self-driving cars are no longer on the way. They’re here.

They’re not as smart as they’re going to become, yet, but it probably won’t be long before drivers are able to hop on the interstates and speed off to Columbus or Charleston without putting their hands back on the wheel until it’s time to exit the freeway.

And not long after that, the drive to the interstate may be largely handled by the automobile.

In Pittsburgh, Ford Fusions festooned with cameras and lidar units are serving as the first harbinger of the driverless era. Uber is debuting a fleet of the vehicles, with humans still in the driver’s seat to intervene if the machine and its brain go awry. The Ohio Turnpike is about to allow testing of self-driving vehicles along the high-speed highway. In California, laws have been passed to regulate testing of self-driving cars several years ago and testing has been ongoing there for years. Many cars today have systems available to assist the driver by warning if the car is drifting out of its lane or stopping if there is a stopped vehicle or other object, including pedestrians, ahead.

In the private hands of a privileged few, Tesla automobiles are equipped with a remarkable system that allows the cars to drive, largely unassisted, from point to point, though the recommendation is that drivers must be attentive to the car, keep their hands on the wheel and be aware that the car may make mistakes. A Canton native is dead as a result of not remaining attentive to his Tesla, which was unable to differentiate the white side of a crossing tractor-trailer truck from the bright sky and drove beneath the truck.

So, no, we’re not where we need to be to take our hands all the way off the wheel and start texting or working during our commutes in a safe fashion.

But we may not be far off.

It was 25 years ago that the former Defense Department dispersed computer network was released to public use and the world wide web was born. In one generation, look how far the Internet has come, from a curiosity and a bunch of “www.” addresses at the end of TV commercials to a place that is disrupting what had been conventional mass media, interpersonal communications and research methods in favor of truly personal experiences available on our desks or in our pockets.

And those pocket devices have grown from spotty ways to make a phone call from the side of the road during an emergency into full-on immersive experiences, allowing us to stay connected 24/7 through apps, allowing us to watch movies and live events, read the news and, yes, make reliable phone calls.

But they’re distracting us from tasks such as driving.

Which brings us back to the autonomous automobile.

Not long ago, they were curiosity, with some college teams building vehicles that lumbered around the desert in an annual contest, usually dominated by Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University. Now, thanks to CMU and its partnership with Uber, self-driving cars are here and ready for the public.

As the Internet wired itself into our lives through the past 25 years, it will be fascinating to watch how intelligent cars and trucks and buses will change us in a generation.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today