INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Autonomous vehicles are big business
Tesla, Waymo, and Apple have all invested heavily in what they see as the transport of tomorrow: AI-driven cars capable of such precise
allowing them to sleep on long-haul journeys, finish typing up presentations on the way to work, or simply use their time as they see fit
(so, Netflix).Statistically, these vehicles should also be much, much safer
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) can use 360-degree cameras to assess the environment around them; they can use LIDAR sensors to bounce light off
the terrain and build a 3D map of your surroundings, seeing further and better than the human eye; they can adjust their route and speed
automatically depending on real-time traffic data or weather reports
quickly as it can actually working outMove fast, break thingsA Tesla Model X SUV crashed and kills its passenger when driving in Autopilot
mode.The gung-ho attitude synonymous with young, risk-taking startups is exactly what propelled so many of them to star status
Even small teams of engineers and programmers found they could become hugely disruptive forces through a willingness to take real risks, and
respond to new challenges fast
killed a pedestrian in Arizona
killing its 38-year-old driver
to a certain extent real-life road testing will be necessary to further its development
StreetDrone test vehicle at their Oxford HQ.We spoke to the team at StreetDrone, a startup based in Oxford, UK building self-driving cars
for use in research and testing environments.This is a company more than familiar with the realities of motor transport and modern travel:
works before applying it commercially, or letting it anywhere near high-risk environments."This is serious and we have to get everything
Safety has to be our number one priority every time but I think that's a good thing."Founders Mark Preston (L) and Mike Potts
means companies sometimes fail to implement the necessary safeguards
exactly who) to bring in its own AV solutions to operations, which would see unmanned vehicles check for blockages in tunnels rather than
and perhaps the future of the technology lies in knowing when to keep manual and automatic systems separate.Beep beepA Starship robot
carries out its delivery.Back in 2016 we reported on the delivery startup Starship, which had developed a fleet of wheeled, autonomous
congested.In the UK, Starship has refocused its efforts on the more sparsely-populated town of Milton Keynes
Here, its robots could both travel more freely and give more benefit to local residents, who lacked easy access to grocery stores and food
outlets.A spokesperson for Starship said the locals had even started viewing the robots as community members, and would rush to assist one
that had been knocked over or lost its way
while off.The long haulBack at Streetdrone, Mike Potts is cautiously optimistic that autonomous vehicles will find their place in our
