Autonomous cars: five reasons they still aren't on our roads

Autonomous cars: five reasons they still aren't on our roads

Why we don’t yet have self-driving cars

The technology to enable a car to complete a journey without human input is advancing rapidly. But there are still fundamental challenges to be overcome. Software engineer John McDermid explains five of the biggest remaining obstacles to producing safe, fully autonomous vehicles. These include the thorny issues of regulation and social acceptability as well as technical challenges. “There is, of course, a race to be the first company to introduce a fully self-driving car,” McDermid says. “But without collaboration on how we make the car safe, provide evidence of that safety, and work with regulators and the public to get a ‘stamp of approval’, these cars will remain on the test track for years to come.”

The Conversation | 5 min read