Autonomous Vehicles And Risks
By Chhavi Bharadwaj, PGDRM Jan’21-22
What Are Autonomous Vehicles?
- Autonomous vehicles are those that can drive themselves.
- To do so, the vehicle must be able to perceive its surroundings, make choices about where it is safe and desirable to travel, and then move there.
- It’s also possible for a vehicle to be just partially self-driving, with certain choices made by a human driver and others made by the machine.
Different types of autonomous vehicles
- Marine
- Autonomous Spacecrafts
- Specialized Industry Usage
- Trains
- Autonomous Cars
Marine
Image Source: digitaltrends.com
Autonomous and unmanned technologies can be employed in both undersea and surface boats in marine environments.
Applications:
- A scientific study, such as monitoring ocean elements like coral reefs, is one of the major areas where these can be employed.
- For commercial purposes, such as in the oil and gas industry.
Spacecraft
Image Source: Wikipedia
Spacecraft include autonomous technology for a number of purposes. This technology can either control the whole spacecraft’s operation or operate in collaboration with a human operator.
Applications:
- Mars exploration rover
- Lunar probes
- Supply ships going to space stations
Specialized Industry Usage
Image Source: Forbes
Unmanned and autonomous vehicles are used in factories and warehouses for specialized industry operations.
Applications:
- Rio Tinto, a massive mining corporation, utilizes tens of driverless trucks to carry iron ore, as well as autonomous trains on several of its sites.
- Robots with mechanical arms have been built that can recognize items and detect how much power they are applying on them, allowing them to choose the optimum method of assembling and transporting products.
Trains
Image Source: World Bank Blogs
Autonomous trains are capable of operating automatically at all times, including door closing, obstacle detection, and emergency situations.
Applications:
- Trains are automatically positioned for service prior to the initiation of normal operation.
- Aids in addressing the issues of growing demand for safety, the need to reduce operational costs, passenger expectations for more frequent service, and shorter travel times.
Autonomous Cars
Image Source: www.bbva.ch
A completely autonomous automobile is one that is capable of seeing its surroundings, deciding which route to take to its destination, and driving itself.
Levels Of Autonomy
Image Source: NovAtel
How Does It Work?
Image Source: Harvard.edu
Image Source: YoungWonks
LIDAR (or ‘Light Detection and Ranging’) is a device with a constantly rotating laser beam. It sends invisible light pulses all around it.
Radars help in detecting moving objects.
Advantages Autonomous Cars
- Reduced Collisions on the Road
- Fewer Traffic Jams
- Decreased Emissions
- Reduced Fuel Consumption
- Great Benefits for Seniors and disables
- Fast and Affordable
- Lower Taxi Fares
- Better Parking Opportunities
Legal issues and challenges related to AV
Image Source: ResearchGate
Legalities related to AV
- The driving task generally falls under the full responsibility of the human drivers. (for information or warning systems).
- German Road Traffic Act -ensures third-party access to certain defined recorded data of the vehicle (human or ADAS error).
- Human drivers still bear the duty to monitor all types of ADAS with the exception of evident technical failure of the vehicle or of the ADAS algorithms.
Challenges introduced
- A new set of challenging paradoxes arise concerning both Human-Machine Interaction and legal aspects which are intrinsically linked to the “liability question”.
- The Human-Machine Transition (HMT) cycle, supports the joint conceptual analysis articulated around the “liability issue” (i.e. responsibility in the vehicle control)
Few ethical dilemmas
- The continuous supervision and evaluation (in terms of risk-taking, for instance) of driver behaviors, and the potential use of this type of data by insurance companies to support pay As You Drive(PAYD) logic.
- Vague and ambiguous regulations
- In Germany, for example, the recently amended law stipulates that the driver should be able to stay “alert” in order to resume “timely” control
- How much takeover time is expected by regulators or what drivers are permitted to do in automated mode: the arguably critical point, especially in those instances where the takeover is unplanned and has to be virtually instantaneous.
- Is it ethically right to charge the human driver with responsibility for monitoring and spontaneous handover situations
- Whether the final decision about handover or takeover initiation lies with the human driver or the machine.
Risks
- Allow a thief to figure out when a homeowner isn’t home
- It’s also possible that driving might be hampered deliberately, putting passengers at risk.
- A largescale immobilisation of cars on public roads could throw a country into chaos.
- Constant exposure to EMF leads to health problems like headaches, migraines, inner agitation, chronic fatigue, insomnia, and infection susceptibility.
- Some people develop electromagnetic hypersensitivity where they experience sudden shortness of breath and fluctuating blood pressure.
- People also develop eye problems from constant electromagnetic exposure.
- Our present infrastructure is not designed for the usage of autonomous vehicles, and as a result, accidents may occur.
- Self-driving cars may be unable to navigate under heavy rain or snow, which may conceal or distort painted lines on roads and highways. This can render autonomous navigation systems unreliable, if not unusable.
- The shift toward autonomy may increase (rather than decrease) a vehicle’s energy requirements.
- From oil temperature to engine timing to brake action, modern automobiles keep track of everything. This requires processing gigabytes of data every hour.
References
- https://www.vesttech.com/top-3-possible-dangers-of-self-driving-cars/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847818308556
- https://www.natlawreview.com/article/dangers-driverless-cars
- https://www.lloyds.com/~/media/lloyds/reports/emerging%20risk%20reports/autonomous%20vehicles%20final.pdf
- https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/self-driving-cars-technology-risks-possibilities/
- https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201007-can-driverless-cars-tackle-climate-change
- https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1711&context=drivingassessment
- https://blog.carvana.com/2021/05/what-are-the-advantages-of-autonomous-vehicles/
- https://valientemott.com/blog/blog-self-driving-cars-pros-and-cons/
- https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/self-driving-cars-technology-risks-possibilities/
Disclaimer
This report has been produced by students of Global Risk Management Institute for their own research, classroom discussions and general information purposes only. While care has been taken in gathering the data and preparing the report, the student’s or GRMI does not make any representations or warranties as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly excludes to the maximum extent permitted by law all those that might otherwise be implied. References to the information collected have been given where necessary.
GRMI or its students accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss or damage of any nature occasioned to any person as a result of acting or refraining from acting as a result of, or in reliance on, any statement, fact, figure or expression of opinion or belief contained in this report. This report does not constitute advice of any kind.
More research studies by students:
