Only one-fifth of Americans would swap their regular cars for self-driving vehicles, according to a survey by Intel.
The survey of US consumers found that only 21% would swap vehicles today, despite the fact that 63% expect self-driving cars to be the norm in fifty year’s time.
Nearly half of consumers surveyed (43%) said they don’t feel safe around autonomous vehicles (AV) – with women more fearful than men.
Intel already predicted in a 2017 study that a self-driving ‘passenger-centric’ future could be worth $7 trillion by 2050, and also said that 585,000 lives could be saved between 2035 and 2045 through self-driving vehicles. The US Department of Transport has said that eliminating the human error factor in accidents, by replacing human drivers with self-driving vehicles, could reduce traffic fatalities by 94%.
The same study found that over half of consumers look forward to the day they don’t have to drive, and can use the time in car for other activities including entertainment (58%), socialising (57%) and work (56%).
Intel said that achieving this vision of pervasive self-driving transport will require building trust with consumers, and development of a clear path from today’s automated driving assistance technologies and the fully self-driving cars of the future.
Intel believes the best approach is twofold, consisting of creating widespread availability, education and acceptance of advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), so that the largest number of people can experience the technology and be convinced to ‘leap the technology chasm’ to autonomous transport; and creation of universally accepted and understood safety standards
As a starting point, Intel has offered its Responsibility-Sensitive Safety model. This proposed standard formalizes what it means to be a safe driver into a mathematical equation that can be explained and fully transparent. Intel is inviting the industry to align on such a standard. The recently announced Institute for Advanced Mobility in Arizona aims to solve the liability, regulatory and safety implications of automated vehicles and will work to develop standards and best practices for the industry to follow.
Jack Weast, Intel senior principal engineer and vice president of AV Standards at Mobileye commented: “We must bridge the gap between acceptance of today’s automated driving assist features and full autonomy. Today, passengers are asked to blindly trust a manufacturer’s ‘black box’ safety approach. What is needed is for the industry and policymakers to rally around a transparent safety model that builds trust between humans and machines.”
