As self-driving cars evolve from science fiction to reality, their most important component will remain the human being, according to a number of experts on how people interact with machine.
As reported by qz.com, man will no longer have to be actively involved in driving on the road, but these researchers claim we shouldn’t ignore the human element of automated driving.
Automakers and tech companies are already going as far as removing the steering wheel (Google) and installing rear-facing front seats (Mercedes-Benz). They also insist on the fact that drivers will become useless and that occupants in a self-driving vehicle can use the time to read a newspaper or watch a movie. In reality, though, no computer system is perfectly reliable, and human presence will always be necessary.
During a recent cross-country trip in the U.S., a Delphi-engineered car drove itself 99% of the way without any problems. The issue is the remaining 1%. Multiply it by the hundreds of millions of vehicles on the road in North America, and it starts to sound like a real cause for concern.
Another danger of relying too much on self-driving cars is losing the ability to perform what are currently deemed as routine tasks. Researchers suggest that companies improve communication between man and machine to let people know exactly what the car is doing at all times.
Autonomous driving should make our life easier, not do everything for us.