United States Autonomous Cars : The Rise Of Autonomous Vehicles In The United States

The development of self-driving car technology has prompted governments worldwide to establish regulations around the testing and use of autonomous vehicles. In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is the key federal agency tasked with developing policies and safety standards for autonomous vehicles. In 2017, the Department of Transportation released updated federal guidance that defined five levels of vehicle automation, from no automation to full self-driving. The guidelines helped establish expectations for autonomous features and clarified that states would regulate the testing and operation of self-driving cars on public roads.

States have taken different approaches to autonomous vehicle legislation. As of 2021, 42 states have enacted laws related to the testing or use of autonomous vehicles. California, Arizona, Michigan, and Texas have been particularly active in this area by passing bills that permit on-road testing and set guidelines around driver presence, data recording, and oversight. Other states are still reviewing policies or developing rules specific to their road systems and climates. Ongoing collaboration between federal and state agencies will be important to foster innovation while prioritizing safety as the technology continues to develop.

Progress And Adoption By United States Autonomous Cars

Most of the major automakers and tech giants have established autonomous vehicle programs focused on developing self-driving systems and integrating them into vehicle platforms. Some notable achievements and partnerships include:

- Tesla: The electric vehicle manufacturer introduced Autopilot, an advanced driver assistance system, in 2015. The system can steer, accelerate, and brake automatically under limited conditions with a driver attentive and prepared to take control. Tesla is continuing to enhance Autopilot through over-the-air software updates.

- GM Cruise: General Motors' self-driving arm Cruise has been testing fully driverless vehicles on public roads in San Francisco since 2019. It aims to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service without safety drivers in 2023.

- Waymo: Alphabet's Waymo unit has driven over 20 million miles in autonomous mode on public roads across 25 cities since 2009. Waymo launched the first commercial driverless ride-hailing service in Phoenix for approved riders in 2020.

- Ford/Argo AI: Ford invested $1 billion in Argo AI in 2017 and plans to integrate Argo's self-driving system into purpose-built vehicle designs starting in 2021. The companies are focusing first on launching robo-taxi services in major US cities.

- Uber: Uber paused development of its autonomous vehicle program after a pedestrian fatality during a test in 2018. It restarting limited testing with two safety operators in 2021.

- Nuro: Founded in 2016, Nuro developed an autonomous delivery vehicle specifically designed for moving packages, not passengers. In 2021, it launched commercial product delivery services in Texas and California using its low-speed electric vehicles.

The adoption of advanced driver-assistance systems and partial autonomy features like Tesla's Autopilot indicates self-driving technology is gradually making inroads into consumer and commercial vehicles. Meanwhile, companies are working to launch dedicated robotaxi and delivery services in the coming years. Widespread fully autonomous vehicles still face technical and regulatory hurdles but continue progressing toward deployment.

Economic And Social Impacts

Analysts project autonomous vehicles will bring about massive economic and social changes as the technology evolves and adoption increases over the coming decades. Some significant impacts include:

- Transportation as a service: Mobility services using self-driving taxis and shared robo-fleets could replace privately owned vehicles for some consumers and shift the  toward an on-demand transportation model similar to ride-hailing.

- Delivery and logistics revolution: Autonomous trucks and delivery vehicles promise to lower costs, increase capacity and efficiency, combat driver shortages, and accelerate the shipment of goods through new mobility services.

- Road safety advancements: With an estimated 90% of car accidents tied to human error, autonomous vehicles aim to drastically reduce collisions, injuries, and fatalities through their driving capabilities. Some studies estimate traffic deaths could decline by up to 80-90%.

- Congestion relief: Analysts project the deployment of autonomous shared fleets and optimized logistics could ease road congestion in cities by increasing vehicle passenger capacity utilization and coordinating traffic flows.

- Economic productivity gains: By freeing up time otherwise spent driving, autonomous vehicles may translate to billions in increased productivity for passengers and employers annually. New autonomous mobility sectors will also generate jobs and business opportunities.

- Accessibility expansions: Self-driving cars and mobility services could vastly improve access to transportation for non-drivers like the elderly, disabled people, or young consumers. This may help address social issues around mobility, access to opportunities, and independent living.

Continued development and deployment of autonomous vehicles promises far-reaching economic and social transformation in the United States and worldwide. However, maximizing their benefits will depend on proper policies and infrastructure to support innovations. Their full potential impact remains to be seen as the technology matures.

Challenges And Barriers To Overcome

Despite notable progress, self-driving technologies still face technical, regulatory, consumer acceptance, and infrastructure challenges that must be surmounted for autonomous vehicles to achieve widespread adoption:

- Safety validation: Developers need to demonstrate their autonomous systems can operate as safely or more safely than human drivers across all driving scenarios before full deployment without limitations. Unexpected accidents or issues could significantly set back public trust.

- Data and computing power: Massive amounts of data from road environments and simulations are required to train autonomous systems. Computing and processing power must continue scaling to handle rising data and complexity demands from advanced capabilities.

- Perception and decision-making: Fully autonomous vehicles must master instantaneous real-world perception, scenario assessment, nuanced decision-making and anticipation of unpredictable events, similar to human-level cognition. This remains extremely difficult to achieve.

- Regulations and policies: Further coordination is still needed on regulatory frameworks, standards, and policies between federal and state governments to address legal liabilities and responsibilities, certification processes, and long-term strategy.

While fully autonomous vehicles without human intervention are still being perfected, some partially automated features are already available on newer vehicles. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) like adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and automated emergency braking are becoming more common on many new cars.

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About Author:

Ravina Pandya, Content Writer, has a strong foothold in the market research industry. She specializes in writing well-researched articles from different industries, including food and beverages, information and technology, healthcare, chemical and materials, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravina-pandya-1a3984191)