Autoblog

Self-driving cars face host of legal hurdles

Michael Harley — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 11:01:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Technology

One group of people eagerly awaiting the arrival of autonomous (self-driving) vehicles are lawyers, according to a recent report on CNET. While the soon-to-arrive vehicles are sure to save countless lives (after cigarettes, motorized vehicles are the second most dangerous consumer product on the market - thanks to human operators), a host of legal opportunities will emerge with regards to product liability, tort law, negligence, foreseeable harm, patent encumbrance, and design defects.

To limit the liability of companies that will supply autonomous technology, laws will need to be enacted to curb their legal exposure. Plus, the systems will need to be locked down so their software cannot be modified or altered by the user - even if that type of action hinders technology advancements and innovation.

Yet there are even more lawsuits threatening self-driving technology. Thinking beyond modified software or errors in coding that causes mishaps are the actions, and legal implications, of humans sharing the roads with self-driving vehicles. What happens when a driver deliberately, and aggressively, interacts with an autonomous car (e.g., attempts to run it off the road or jams on the brakes in an attempt to cause a collision) and human injury is the result? Even more frightening is this question: Who goes on trial when a motorist is killed by a vehicle driven by a robot?

Self-driving cars face host of legal hurdles originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Apr 2013 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google sees self-driving cars in 3-5 years; Washington, insurers not so sure

Seyth Miersma — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:29:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Technology

In just a handful of years, autonomous car technology has taken amazing strides forward. In particular, the highly visible Google self-driving car effort has garnered loads of media attention for its impressive and fast-evolving technology. In fact, Google is reasonably confident that its autonomous technology can be brought to the marketplace in the next three to five years.

Whether or not the marketplace is in any shape to accept a self-driving car in that timespan is a much trickier question.

A new report by Bloomberg examines the relationship between autonomous tech and the regulations that must certainly come along with it before these kinds of auto-piloted cars show up in a dealership near you. Google maintains that self-driving cars can be made to "drive safer than people do," saving lives in the process. Meanwhile, regulating bodies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have to figure out how the cars will be road-tested for safety and where new standards will be set. How a vehicle's software is able to react to fluid and random driving scenarios, for example, will need to be somehow be tested to meet a high standard of performance.

Reaction from the insurance industry is likely to slow down the arrival of autonomous cars, as well, says Bloomberg. While, as a whole, the insurance companies have claimed to be in favor of self-driving's accident-prevention possibilities, the reality of liability claims muddy the waters. Some insurance experts predict that these issues could cause it to be as long as 15 or 20 years before the way is clear for self-driving cars in the US - decades, in other words, behind the pace of the technology itself.

Check out the full Bloomberg story, with a lot more detail around this complex issue, here.

Google sees self-driving cars in 3-5 years; Washington, insurers not so sure originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM study watches drivers of autonomous vehicles [w/video]

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:59:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Technology, Videos, Cadillac, GM

Like it or not, autonomous vehicles are on the way, and much is being done to study their integration into the world's transportation networks. As part of its own development of driver assistance systems, General Motors has begun to look driver behavior behind the wheels of self-driving vehicles; innovations like Cadillac semi-autonomous Super Cruise are designed to "ease the driver's workload" on the highway, but it will be good to know what drivers plan on doing to occupy their time.

The main finding so far is that "Staying aware [is] considered key to autonomous vehicle operation," which would seem to make the most basic kind of sense, but the additional assessment is that "driver attentiveness can be improved through advanced driver assistance and safety features." Basically, the more your car does for you, the more it will need to be able to do in order to ensure everyone's safety.

The driver aids that will be available on the 2013 Cadillac ATS this year and the 2014 XTS next year continue the march toward self-driving cars, which some predict might come as soon as this decade. Scroll down to watch a video and see a press release on GM's studies on human behavior behind those I, Robot wheels.

Continue reading GM study watches drivers of autonomous vehicles [w/video]

GM study watches drivers of autonomous vehicles [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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California Senate votes to bring autonomous cars closer to reality

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 23 May 2012 08:28:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Technology

California is on its way to taking a ride with the autonomous car. By a vote of 37-0, the State Senate approved Senate Bill 1298 (you can read it here) that begins to establish how guidelines on and oversight of self-driving vehicles will be handled.

The bill charges the Department of the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Motor Vehicles with providing recommendations to the legislature on "the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on California's public roads" with and without a licensed driver present. However, the driverless provision can't come into effect until the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration draws up federal guidelines on autonomous cars without drivers.

The bill is being championed by Senator and MIT graduate Alex Padilla, who envisions "a future that includes self-driving cars" because, "Autonomous vehicles have the potential to significantly reduce traffic fatalities and injuries." California is the second state after Nevada to make genuine progress on the road to autonomous vehicles, and four other states are considering legislation. The CA bill goes to the State Assembly next and is expected to pass.

California Senate votes to bring autonomous cars closer to reality originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DOT to run tests to see if drivers freak out when their car takes over

Jeff Glucker — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:33:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Technology

Automobiles are getting smarter, and it's possible that cars may be able to handle most of the driving duties in the not-too-distant future. Are motorists ready to enter that reality? The U.S. Department of Transportation is curious to find out, and tests are about to get underway to find out how much faith motorists can comfortably put in the hands of an autonomous vehicle.

Researchers for the DOT are heading out to the racetrack - not to post fast lap times, but to gauge driver and passenger reactions to safety equipment designed to intervene when necessary. The custom vehicles contain equipment that allows them to "talk" to each other. This relay of data lets one car know what the other is doing. If one car sees that it's on a collision course with another, it can initiate a panic stop and avoid an accident. The DOT wants to find out how motorists react in situations where their cars jump in to save the day.

Testing will take place in cities around the country. The results of this research will be shared with Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen. While testing in the States gets moving, automakers are conducting further testing elsewhere in the world. Automated cars are set to take over the streets of Frankfurt, while other driverless vehicles tackle racetracks in Belgium.

Our own Damon Lavrinc recently got a taste of the automated action when he sampled the BMW Track Trainer.

Are you ready for a world of automated vehicles? Sound off in Comments.

DOT to run tests to see if drivers freak out when their car takes over originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Google talks about its driverless car tech at TED

Aaron Richardson — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:02:00 EST

Filed under: Technology, Videos

Google Driverless Car - Click above to view video after the jump

Sebastien Thurn has made it his life's work to save one million lives from traffic accidents. Thurn has been instrumental in the development of Google's DARPA Challenge-winning driverless car technology at Stanford University, and he's confident that his technology can not only save lives, but eliminate traffic jams.

Thurn's footage of a driverless Toyota Prius is nothing short of incredible, showing the cars successfully navigating deserts, highways and city streets clogged with traffic and pedestrians. So far, the driverless car's most impressive journey has been from San Francisco to Los Angeles down Highway One.

Beyond just city and highway driving, Thurn has provided footage of the driverless Prius and a driverless Volkswagen Passat successfully navigating an autocross-style cones course, proving these cars can handle a wide range of driving styles. The cars function by employing a series of sensors to detect their environment, and use a computer program to respond to what's going on around them.

Thurn was on hand at this year's TED Conference to discuss the idea and show footage from 140,000 miles of driverless car tests conducted by Stanford. The TED Conference serves as a forum for innovative ideas, publishing video seminars and ideas year round, and hosting two in-person conferences per year. The foundation has been holding conferences and publishing content on a creative commons license since 1990. Check out the video after the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Google talks about its driverless car tech at TED

Video: Google talks about its driverless car tech at TED originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: ABC News gets taken for a spin in Google's self-driving Toyota Prius

Jeff Glucker — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:28:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Technology, Videos, Toyota

ABC News goes for a spin with one of Google's driverless cars - Click above to watch video after the jump

Google's autonomous fleet has been clandestinely racking up the computer-driven miles, and so far, their autonomous autos have been fault-free. One minor incident happened when a car was rear-ended, but the ~~Skynet~~ Google cars have yet to incur any points on their virtual licenses. Earlier this week, ABC News got the chance to go for a spin in one of the tech company's automated cars, riding shotgun in a computer-controlled Toyota Prius.

The engineers from Google explain that the Prius utilizes a series of cameras and a roof-mounted, spinning laser to see what is going on around it. The result is a vehicle which might just be safer than one with a human behind the wheel. However, according to the report, the goal of the system is not to completely remove the driver from the equation, the system is pitched as more of a "super cruise-control" than a full auto-drive system. The theory is that it would be useful for traffic-filled commutes to and from work, and it might be a nice solution to eliminate or reduce distracted-driving. Get a phone call? Hit the Google button and let the car have the wheel while you take your call.

Becky Worley, the news correspondent in the video clip, even gets up the guts to give the Google car a real-life brake test. She steps in front of it as it's motoring down the road. What happens? The car "sees" her and slams on the binders. Check it all out in the video after the jump.

[Source: ABC News]

Continue reading Video: ABC News gets taken for a spin in Google's self-driving Toyota Prius

Video: ABC News gets taken for a spin in Google's self-driving Toyota Prius originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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