Here’s some news that could give legislators, law enforcement and insurance companies a mild headache while having intermittent flashbacks of Minority Report and Knight Rider – The team at Alphabet Inc’s Google unit has convinced the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recognize Google’s computer in its self-driving car as a driver, setting the precedent for the development of autonomous vehicles.
Google started road-testing its self-driving car software called Google Chauffeur in 2010 in a host of vehicles – Toyota Prius, Lexus RX450h and Audi TT which covered about 2 million km by late 2015. In 2014, Google developed its own prototype 2-seater car for testing. The latest prototype has no steering wheel, brake or gas pedals. As of last year, Google had reported 14 traffic accidents involving its self-driving cars but maintained none of them were the fault of the software.
In a letter to Google, NHTSA said, “NHTSA will interpret ‘driver’ in the context of Google’s described motor vehicle design as referring to the (self-driving system), and not to any of the vehicle occupants. We agree with Google its (self-driving car) will not have a ‘driver’ in the traditional sense that vehicles have had drivers during the last more than one hundred years”.
The NHTSA defines vehicle automation as having five levels:
No-Automation (Level 0): The driver is in complete and sole control of the primary vehicle controls – brake, steering, throttle, and motive power – at all times.
Function-specific Automation (Level 1): Automation at this level involves one or more specific control functions. Examples include electronic stability control or pre-charged brakes, where the vehicle automatically assists with braking to enable the driver to regain control of the vehicle or stop faster than possible by acting alone.
Combined Function Automation (Level 2): This level involves automation of at least two primary control functions designed to work in unison to relieve the driver of control of those functions. An example of combined functions enabling a Level 2 system is adaptive cruise control in combination with lane centering.
Limited Self-Driving Automation (Level 3): Vehicles at this level of automation enable the driver to cede full control of all safety-critical functions under certain traffic or environmental conditions and in those conditions to rely heavily on the vehicle to monitor for changes in those conditions requiring transition back to driver control. The driver is expected to be available for occasional control, but with sufficiently comfortable transition time. The Google car is an example of limited self-driving automation.
Full Self-Driving Automation (Level 4): The vehicle is designed to perform all safety-critical driving functions and monitor roadway conditions for an entire trip. Such a design anticipates that the driver will provide destination or navigation input, but is not expected to be available for control at any time during the trip. This includes both occupied and unoccupied vehicles.
Current standards and regulations, however, don’t allow for proper and comprehensive evaluation of self-driving software. And while NHTSA’s response to Google isn’t going to change the rules in the near term, it gives us an indication of a regulatory agency’s view on vehicles with artificial intelligence and what the future holds.
Automous vehicles which can communicate with other similar vehicles could cut traffic congestion, travel time and accident rates. On the downside, there’s the loss of driving-related jobs, loss of privacy and the potential use of such vehicles for violent purposes.
However great the future of autonomous motoring is, let’s hope Google doesn’t have its version of the ‘blue screen of death’.
Check out Google’s prototype at work here.
Keyword: NHTSA: Google Computer Can Be Considered A Driver