TRENDS
to maintain a specific distance behind the leader, accelerating and braking as the
computer dictates,” Viscelli details.
This possibility bodes well for all of us. Highway accidents generally are the most
catastrophic, causing an estimated annual 40,000 U.S. roadway deaths in 2016,
2017, and 2018, according to the National Safety Council. Autonomous trucks traveling
in a dedicated lane away from other vehicles theoretically would enhance safety
by removing “human error from the crash equation,” the NHTSA states.
THE MISSING LINK?
Despite the varied benefits, the year that fully autonomous vehicles take over the
roads remains uncertain. A major stumbling block is safety, insofar as a clear and mutually
agreed upon understanding of acceptable risk by governments and the public.
“No critical system of transportation can claim a zero percent level of risk,” Tawiri
says. “Decades passed before people agreed on an acceptable level of risk when flying
in a plane. We’re in a phase now where we’re trying to define what is acceptable
and unacceptable risk.”
This effort has not stopped scores of autonomous test vehicles from practice
runs on the nation’s roads, most unnoticed by the public. So far, 29 U.S. states have
passed legislation allowing specific uses of self-driving vehicles. Obstacles remain,
with both autonomous technology providers and carmakers conceding the difficulty
of developing a car that avoids every possible collision without constantly braking.
5G is a possible solution to this dilemma. At the 2019 Consumer Electronics
Show, the 5G Automotive Association, an organization composed of more than 110
automotive, technology, and telecommunications companies, unveiled Cooperative
Intelligent Transportation Systems—an autonomous vehicle system comprising
vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure, vehicle-to-network, and vehicle-to-pedestrian
communications. Such vehicle-to-everything wireless communications
(dubbed V2X) can handle enormous data volumes, reducing latency risks.
5G networks are expected to reach half the world’s population by 2024. “My
perspective is that we will begin to see Level 4 autonomous vehicles on the road
in much greater numbers by 2030, with Level 5 vehicles following relatively soon
thereafter,” EY’s Simlett says.
That’s roughly 10 years from now. As NHTSA stated, “Fully automated cars and
trucks that drive us, instead of us driving them, are a vision that seems on the verge
of becoming a reality.”
Home, please. ■
Find more stories of how 5G will enable everything
from self-driving cars to telemedicine.
DellTechnologies.com/Perspectives
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