Driven to distraction: how close are we to watching films in self-driving cars?
Self-driving cars could lead to drivers being allowed to watch films on the motorway, under changes to the Highway Code proposed by the Department for Transport
The planned updates are intended to smooth the way for adoption of autonomous vehicles on British roads. But they have sparked concern from some, who fear that new regulations may be introduced before the technology is there to support them.
The actual definition of a “self-driving” car is hotly contested. At one end of the spectrum, simple driver-assist technologies such as cruise control are decades old, and have been largely incorporated into existing rules without difficulty. At the other end of the spectrum, the dream of a fully autonomous vehicle, that can handle any driving a human can, remains the stuff of science fiction.
In between the poles is where disputes lie. Tesla’s “autopilot” technology, for instance, can follow the lanes of a motorway, and handle junctions without intervention, but even drivers who pay the fee to upgrade to what the company calls “full self-driving” must remain at the wheel and alert at all times, in case the car’s software is unable to cope with something unexpected.
The industry uses a six-point scale, from 0 to 5, to cover the differences, and considers anything above 3 “automated” to some degree. A level 3 car, like a Tesla, can perform “most” driving tasks, but requires human override occasionally. A level 4 car, like the robot taxis being tested in San Francisco and Phoenix, can perform all driving under specific circumstances – like in a defined city area, for instance – but still preserves the option for human override. Only a level 5 car, which never needs a human to take over and could be made without a steering wheel
Read more on theguardian.com
