The Transition to Autonomous Vehicles

Around the world and increasingly in US cities, autonomous vehicles (AVs) are slowly starting to expand into more and more places. Waymo is one major company, founded by Alphabet Inc., which has cars in many US cities, even Charlotte, NC.

It is generally agreed upon that there are 6 Levels of AV tech. At Level 0, the car does not have the ability to prevent errors or accidents that may cause danger. However, on the other end of the spectrum, Level 5 cars are fully autonomous and do not require a steering wheel or pedals to be able to drive on any surface that the vehicle may encounter. There are no Level 5 cars that the general public has access to, as of now.

Another major company is Zoox: a brand supported by Amazon that only has AVs in a portion of northeast San Francisco and Las Vegas. Zoox, as well as Waymo, are companies considered to manufacture Level 4 AVs, meaning that they can drive themselves, but just in a specific area where their computers have access to a map. Across the board, the AV market is continuing to expand, but the profit is far from sustainable. Currently, Waymo is making a very small amount of money compared to the many billions that have been put into the company to get it going.

As AV technology develops, radar and lidar camera tech allow these vehicles to not have to rely on daylight to be drivable and safe. Traditional camera systems, on the other hand, struggle to work properly in situations where there is a lack of light, such as in the night or foggy conditions. However, all of the tech that is a part of what makes an AV driverless really does contribute to safety. Without a driver that can make mistakes or get distracted, AVs do seem like a viable alternative to traditional taxis or just conventional cars in general.

Besides the growing companies of Waymo and Zoox, Tesla is also continuing to work on its own AV, which the brand is calling the ROBOTAXI, a car that will also be classified as a Level 4 vehicle as well. Tesla, however, has been working to develop their AVs without lidar and radar tech, which arguably will make the cars more dangerous on the open road.

Other companies, such as Stellantis-which operates brands such as Jeep, Chrysler, and Alfa Romeo-have partially-autonomous vehicles in the works. These Level 2 vehicles will require a driver to be present and prepared to take over the vehicle if needed. Using the Wayve AI Driver, the company's STLA AutoDrive platform is set to launch in 2028 and could be used on multiple brands encompassed by the company.

An example such as Stellantis' case proves that a slow transition might be best-where the driver is present and needs to be alert-before a full transition to driverless cars is applicable. Certainly, a lot of innovation has been made past common cruise control features that brands such as GM and Tesla have employed on their vehicles for a few years now. Based on these advancements and after examining the facts, it seems like driverless cars could become the next large-scale lifesaver for the near future.