Not so long ago self-driving cars appeared only in science fiction movies. Today they are slowly finding their way to our everyday life.
I was recently wondering when it all started, who and when was the first one to dream of creating a vehicle that doesn't need a man to control its maneuvers and direction of movement. Some believe that to find an answer to this question we should get back in time to the 16th century when Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart, which was able to move and follow a pre-programmed path.1
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A visualization of Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart.2
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When I looked closer to our time I found Mr. Francis P. Houdina who at the beginning of the last century attempted to create a radio-controlled vehicle.3 And he succeeded. In 1925 two cars drove the streets of New York. One of them had no driver, and in the other one Mr. Houdina with a controller in his hands was able to change the first car’s path. Sounds pretty amazing, doesn’t it?
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| Mr. Houdina’s American Wonder, 1925.3 |
In the 50s a group of engineers from RCA Labs decided to use electric circuits buried in the pavement to keep a car’s path, and created a project called Electronic Highway of the Future.4 Before they learned that implementing the idea would be extremely expensive they had ascertained a new era had started.
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| How people imagined self-driving cars in the 50s.5 |
Let’s jump to the 90s when engineers were for the first time in history testing a car controlled by computer algorithms that were using vision recognition to determine all the obstacles on the road and control a steering wheel and breaks. In 1994 Ernst Dickmanns took the car, invited guests and drove 1000 km in normal traffic on the three-lane highway at speed up to 130 km/h.6
The above are just a few examples of many experiments conducted in the past. Let’s now jump to 2009 when Google first started testing self-driving Toyota Prius.7 The first goal was to drive fully autonomously over 10 uninterrupted 100-mile routes. In a couple of years the goal was achieved. Tests continued, and slowly shifted from highways to freeways and finally in 2012 to city streets. At the same time Elon Musk’s Tesla started working on the autopilot mode in his now famous electric cars. In 2014 first Tesla car with a first generation autopilot rolled of the production line.8 People were amazed and fascinated, but two years later first fatal crash involving Tesla Model S in autopilot mode happened.9 As it turns out the computer vision recognition algorithm is not perfect, and doesn’t see a truck which is turning left in front of a car. It also seems that a driver wasn’t paying attention, despite Tesla’s guidelines clearly stating that driver should keep their hands on a steering wheel at any time, and scan the environment as usual.
There are now three documented fatal accidents involving cars in the autopilot mode, two Teslas and one Uber’s Volvo, but it doesn't change anything. At the moment most of the very well known car manufacturers work on autonomous cars, and they promise to start mass production in a few years.10
Now let’s take a look at a six-tier definition of an autonomous car created by Society of Automotive Engineers in the picture below.
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| SAE’s definition of autonomous car.11 |
From what I’ve learned so far the most advanced project is the one carried on by Google, or to be precise by Waymo which is Google's company working on self-driving cars. On the Internet, TV, and radio you hear mostly about Tesla, which is on Level 3 at the moment. Waymo, which is on Level 4, a few months ago, at the end of last year, started testing on public roads their Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan with no one in the driver’s seat.12 Watch this short movie below and see what makes Waymo so incredible.13
While the whole idea of autonomous vehicles seems very exciting there’s more to this than the technological aspect. Imagine you see a man crossing the street on a green light and suddenly there is a break failure in your Level 5 autonomous car, which is driving in this man’s exact direction. The vehicle in an instant has to decide what it should do. All the data is gathered. What is the correct behavior? Risking passengers’ lives with a sudden attempt to bypass the pedestrian or save the passengers hurting the pedestrian at the same time. And if the man was breaking the law by crossing the street on a red light? What should the vehicle do then?
A few years ago a group of scientists interested in machine ethics created a Moral Machine14, which is a site where they present moral dilemmas similar to the example I described. Let’s watch a short description of their project.
I encourage you to take a quiz or browse through the questions, and see how you feel about judging which of the choices feels right. I also recommend watching this very interesting video of Iyad Rahvan talking about machine ethics. 15
This text is just a short introduction to the very wide topic of self-driving cars, that’s why I encourage you to browse through my sources below and to start a discussion in the comments section.
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo%27s_self-propelled_cart
- http://history-computer.com/Dreamers/LeonardoAutomata.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houdina_Radio_Control
- https://mechanixillustrated.technicacuriosa.com/2017/03/10/electronic-highway-of-the-future/
- https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/12665/The-Road-to-Driverless-Cars-1925--2025.aspx
- https://www.wired.com/2012/02/autonomous-vehicle-history/
- https://waymo.com/journey/
- https://www.theverge.com/2014/10/17/6982289/tesla-autopilot-is-a-non-revolution-for-self-driving-cars
- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/30/tesla-autopilot-death-self-driving-car-elon-musk
- http://www.businessinsider.com/the-companies-most-likely-to-get-driverless-cars-on-the-road-first-2017-4?IR=T#10-hyundai-motor-group-9
- http://www.businessinsider.com/what-are-the-different-levels-of-driverless-cars-2016-10?IR=T
- https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/7/16615290/waymo-self-driving-safety-driver-chandler-autonomous
- https://youtu.be/B8R148hFxPw
- http://moralmachine.mit.edu/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhCh1pBsS80
1. Do you find the driverless car idea interesting?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I think it will increase our standards of living.
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
I read once that each year, almost 1.3 million people die in car accidents and majority of this accidents are caused by human mistakes. Tailgating, lane hogging, pulling in to the path of other vehicles, failing to put lights on when they should just to name some.
It leads to a conclusion that we are not good drivers. And are our own decisions in life or death situations any better than that made by algorithms? I don't think so.
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
I am not really sure. I think the algorithm behind the ethic should be open sourced or at least disclosed for public information.
That's right, people cause many car accidents every day. A driving car equipped with specialized cameras, sensors, and algorithms collects and process all the data at all times. There's no man, who would be able to do the same. None of us could be as effective as a machine.
DeleteI agree that the algorithm behind the ethics should be disclosed. Also, we should probably use some global regulations, because I can't imagine a world in which every manufacturer independently decides, how its cars act in morally disputable situations.
1. Do you find the driverless car idea interesting?
ReplyDeleteYes, in my opinion it have a potential to revolutionize the way we transport ourselves. Imagines trucks zooming along highways with no driver at all!
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
I was almost ran over just yesterday by some idiot jumping red light so i'd say i would feel safer than i do now!
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
I'll leave it to people smarter than me to figure it out :)
Yes, such situations like driving through the red light shouldn't be happening once we have only driverless cars on our roads. Unless there's a computer failure...
Delete1.
ReplyDeleteYes, the idea of a car without a driver is interesting. I would like to move by myself, and sometimes I do not want to. After a day of work, I would prefer someone else to be in charge.
2.
Passenger's safety is key. And the most important is the role of technologists creating security systems. Before I would decide on such a vehicle, it would have to have many tests. A unit could be created that awards safety certificates after a longer testing period before commercial production.
3.
I do not have specialist knowledge to say something
The necessity of gaining a safety certificate is an interesting idea. I think it's highly probable that soon some standards will be created and they will increase consumer trust, I'm sure.
DeleteI have never thought of that, but you're right that sometimes after work I could be so tired that it would be fantastic to just sit in a car with no need to concentrate on the traffic. :)
1. Of course. I even thought about it by myself in the past. I think that such cars are inevitable in the near future.
ReplyDelete2. For now - no. But for some time probably yes. Algorithms sometimes can be safer than people themselves. What is more, they could unloose traffic by knowing who is where and with what speed is moving. Algorithms do not drink an alcohol and aren't under influence of emotions and keep logical reasoning during various circumstances.
3. There are some problematic decisions to be made. For example if an autonomic car in an emergency situation has to choose between saving a life of an older person or a children or one person or a couple, it has to choose wisely. But answers for these questions are very hard.
If letting autonomous vehicles on our roads could be a way of preventing traffic jams, I'm counting days... :)
Delete1. Do you find the driverless car idea interesting?
ReplyDeleteYes very much interesting. I believe that it can completely change the way people use cars to transport from place A to B. I would like to have a car that can sometimes drive by itself what I don’t have to rely on.
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
I would most of the time. Don’t want to try how good they are in some drastic situations. I just want to be safe and think that autonomous cars can detect danger better and faster than the driver. After all people can make mistakes of not looking at the road when those cars always do this. This makes me feel safer.
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
I think that programming them should involve best situations on the road even when sometimes they could be not easy to answer or program. Having answer to questions about morality is really hard. I would leave it to the people who are skilled enough to do that.
I noticed that most of us commenting here wrote that all those moral dilemmas regarding self-driving cars are hard and should be left to smarter people or experts to find the answers. I wonder if there is anyone, who would feel up to resolving such difficult issues.
DeleteThere is so many sources! I will have some extra information about autonomous cars. The topic is very interesting and I’ll read everything! It’s seems that I actually answered you question but I repeat it one more time. Personally, I think driverless car idea is a very interesting topic! I think, it’s a future! It’s pretty normal that cars is going to be driverless. We (I mean human beings) create new things with every year. Our society is developing very fast. We want to be more flexible, open-minded, innovative. Even if some of us are lazy, but there is some part of us which want to be better, because we want to improve myself. It’s also normal that we want to car be more independent because it’s gonna be more safety. And yes, it another pre-answer for your question. I’d like to know that algorithms make decision in life or death situations. The explanation is pretty simple. We are full of emotions, sometimes we do things because we have some history and we do stuff because we feel it and we want it. We can’t talk about autonomous cars ethics because there is no such thing. There is no ethics. Robots are programming by the human and they’re only the machines. Programming is very tricky and sometimes could be very difficult. It’s hard to talk about ethics. In overall, legislation is the role of governments.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that we should talk about machine ethics. A day will come when autonomous cars will conquer our streets, and encounter situations in which choosing one life over another will be needed. We have to be ready for that. Sure, any car is still just a machine that needs to be programmed by humans and yes, ethics will also have to be programmed. The question is, who should be responsible for that and who would be willing to.
Delete1. Do you find the driverless car idea interesting?
ReplyDelete- Yes, I find it really interesting and I can't wait to start using such a car. I guess it will be a little bit weird at first to sit in a car where nobody is steering the wheel.
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
- Hard to say, but I would rather say yes. Overall computers have much quicker response time than humans. Whatsmore, AI can be used to predict an accident before it happen. Takeing these points into consideration, I hope that all vehicles will be always able to stop/turn whenever accident is going to happen in a way to not harm anybody.
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
- I think it should programmed in a way to always react accordingly and prevent an accident. AI can be used to even predict accident before it happens and knowing computers have better reaction time than humans it should always stop before accident happens.
In my opinion, autonomous cars will be commonly used in the far future. This topic is very interesting. An autonomous lorry can significantly reduce the costs of transport and products may become cheaper. After the recent accident of an Uber car I don’t feel safe. I think an autonomous car does not know what ethics really is and in a situation like this it is thoughtless.
ReplyDeleteImagine driving a highway and seeing driverless trucks around you... That's a totally different world. :)
Delete1. In my opinion it is bad idea. The computer can not predict all factors affecting safe driving. There are situations where only an experienced driver can avoid a collision.
ReplyDelete2. I would not feel safe. As I mentioned in the first question, the algorithm is not able to analyze the situation as a human, and its reaction may be completely opposite
3. I think it's so hard to program a car who will think like a human. I will even say it is impossible.
I don't agree. A car 'sees' everything around it as it was shown in one of the videos above. A car 'sees' much more than a human, and is capable of processing all the data. A car can never be tired or emotional or intoxicated.
DeleteGenerally driverless idea are interesting. This topic of research is developing for few decades (Do you watch The Jetsons Cartoon?). However algorithms and computing power were to small.
ReplyDeleteI think that this idea will be implemented only if we remove standard cars. The main idea for full autonomous cars is communication betweens neighbors machines.
A year ago I drove Mercedes S-Class with "intelligent" components. I love adaptive cruise control, detects signs and many dangerous. This car can overcome small turns in road. This is great, but still this car need a real driver.
Oh yes, I do remember The Jetsons! :)
DeleteThe Mercedes you were driving was only Level 2 autonomous car. There is a long way before it to reach a full autonomy.
1. You choose very popular and interesting subject to present.
ReplyDelete2. Typical question. You can probably get used to it.
3. We know about last accident in the USA with Uber autonomic car. That car has got driver, but driver is only just in case. That car killed woman that she went into a forbidden place at night. Last information is that that car did it especially to save people in the car. It decided that it's better option.
I think that artificial intelligence will be kind of resolution for that problems. On the other hand I think that human is more error-prone than a computer ;)
I consider this topic very interesting as well.
DeleteUber's vehicles are probably Level 3 autonomus cars, which means they need a driver to keep their hands on a steering wheel at all times while at the same time scan the environment to make sure there aren't any obstacles on the road. Unfortunately, the algorithms are not perfect yet. :(
ReplyDelete1. Do you find the driverless car idea interesting?
This is a very interesting issue. I think that the introduction of autonomous cars on our streets can have many positive aspects. In this way, not only will we reduce the number of accidents on roads, but we will also block traffic jams. Autonomous cars make faster decisions and do not break traffic regulations, which can help to keep traffic flowing.
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
I believe that an appropriately constructed algorithm can make morally better decisions than a man who by nature will make selfish choices.
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
It's a very difficult question. People are generally egoistic and in the situation presented in the TED-X recording most probably would save their own lives. I would probably do the same myself. I believe that this is a matter for in-depth analysis and decision making by people with a high knowledge of ethics.
I believe that every man in a life or death situation would more or less consciously choose their own life instead of any other. And now, when we have a possibility to change that, not surprisingly not many people are willing to take the responsibility for the difficult decisions on themselves.
Delete1. Do you find the driverless car idea interesting?
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting that time has come to this that we will see cars without drivers. That will be a very disturbing sight.
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
Yes, I would trust algorithms in most of life-or-death situations, they are tested, quick to react, reliable and always courteous. This is much more than most of the drivers can offer.
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
I think they should be programmed with due diligence - minimize the damages. There is always way to calculate chances and choose the safer.
Yes, there is probably always a way to perform calculations and choose the less expensive solution. If a car can choose between saving a child and saving someone's grandpa, is the first option a less expensive one?
Delete1. Do you find the driverless car idea interesting?
ReplyDeleteIn case of economy yes, It's very interesting, and will be very helpful by reducing cost of transportation, which means for example cheaper products. But this whole idea has to be implemented in very careful way to make it safe for people. In that case, when algorithims will work sufficiently, it will be much safer for people driving on the streets
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
It depends on the accident ratio, and how this idea would be implemented. This means that how eligible the algorithims working inside those system would be. Of course we can state that algorithms are more error proof than humans, but if the implementation of those algorithims would be failed, then we would've serious problems on the streets.
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
To lower accident rate for all cost. Human life is most important in that case, so it's better to crash your car and save human life then safe car to lower repair cost for example.
That's right, human life is always a priority. The most difficult situations will be those in which a decision between peoples' lives and other peoples' lives will have to be made.
Delete1. Do you find the driverless car idea interesting?
ReplyDeleteHonestly I really like to drive. That's my kind of spending free time and for sure I don't want to give pleasure of driving back.
On the other side I understand need of autonomous driving and for me it's quit okey.
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
That's the main problem, I'm afraid about this"decision" and also about possibility of haker attack for this type of car
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
to make everything what they can to avoid car accidents.
Yes, I think hacking attacks on vehicles might be a significant problem in the future. Hopefully, it won't be another weapon for terrorists of any kind.
Delete1. Do you find the driverless car idea interesting?
ReplyDeleteYes it is very interestig concept and I'm curious what outcome all those tests will have.
2. Would you feel safe knowing that there are vehicles around you equipped with algorithms making decisions in life or death situations?
It's hard to tell.. I like to feel like I'm deciding about my own life.
3. What do you think about the autonomous cars ethics? How should those cars be programmed?
They should be programmed as cars - making them as best cars as they can be, doing car stuff..
Doing only car stuff soon won't be enough :)
DeleteI think that a car without a driver is a dangerous idea. They testify to this pace in Tesla's car. In which fatalities have occurred.
ReplyDeleteI would not get into such a car knowing that there were fatal accidents earlier.
In my opinion, it will never be possible to program these cars so that they are one hundred percent safe. I think that the autonomy of cars is intriguing, but I think it will be difficult to implement.