In March, an autonomous Uber vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian. Although the vehicle detected the woman, it failed to stop. According to the police, the vehicle was going 38 mph in a 35 mph zone. This tragic accident caused both manufacturers and the public to take a step back and question whether autonomous cars can ever be fully safe.
In order to ensure that these accidents aren’t common, positioning technology must advance to the point where it is completely accurate. Using a GNSS receiver and other GPS devices as well as INS navigation technology, auto manufacturers are constructing smarter autonomous vehicles than ever before. However, the technology is not at the level yet where autonomous vehicles are safer than ones operated by humans. According to three experts in the industry who were interviewed by GPSWorld.com, positioning technology powered by GNSS and inertial navigation systems will continue to improve. They must be combined with other technologies, though, like radar and Lidar sensors and vision-based solutions, to account for the many variables that can occur on the road. They agree we will get there, but there may be other setbacks along the way. The key will be to hold companies accountable when they do mess up, and to limit any testing risks to protect the general public. We should not be surprised when something goes wrong in these initial phases of testing, but we shouldn’t settle for these events to be the norm either.
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