The three barriers in Autonomous vehicles are: –
Software and hardware reliability-
As per Fagnant & Kockelman, 2013, complex situations on the roads are very hard to handle as it becomes critical with computers for human recognition and other objects or if they are standing, walking, or lying even. Even though software companies have been launching a lot of operating programs but it is highly difficult to master such operating software and it needs to be reliable even to reach the extensive testing of all such possible events as per IHS Automotive, 2014.
The next issue is cybersecurity where the industry will be challenged constantly to provide a secured system and detecting or rectifying any intrusions in the operating system of the vehicle.
As per Anderson et al., 2014; Fagnant & Kockelman, 2013, the reliability of the software is affected by climatic situations like fog, snow, ice, rain, and storms where the sensors find it difficult to operate safely with the self-driving system.
Acceptance by the customer-
As per Butterman, 2013, the major obstacles are among the consumers who ranked the highest for accepting driverless technology. As driving is a skill which a lot of people would like to master and enjoys while driving feels reluctant to participate in such technology as giving up freedom is a major concern among anyone. It needs a big effort so their behavior and habits can be changed.
As per Schoettle & Sivak, 2014, the performance of self-driving vehicles as compared to human drivers are highly concerned among the 1500 American, Australia and British drivers where approximately three-quarter of Americans or two-thirds of Australians and Britishers are concerned moderately or highly.
A lot of them are worried about the hackers which is quite true when anything is dealt with software, concerns like privacy and data loss, system’s performance in worse weather conditions, or interacting with other vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
Regulation and legal framework-
As per IHS Automotive, 2014, the legislation’s lack is a major influence in determining the speed with which automated cars should be allowed in order to enter the market. As per the latest report by KPMG & CAR, 2012, legislations regarding limiting the speed in autonomous cars have not been passed in any country in the world (except California and Nevada) which may become a future issue. Moreover, insurance regulation and liabilities in self-driving cars which can be regulated by a legal framework are still missing.
Some questions identified by KPMG & CAR, 2012 are: –
“Who is liable if an automated car gets involved in an accident? — The passenger of the vehicle, the manufacturer, or the company providing the operating system?”
As per IHS Automotive, 2014; Kelly & CNN, 2014; KPMG & CAR, 2012, implementing the legal framework is going to slow down the automated car growth rate where issues related to such complex liability need to be settled down.
Source:- IHS Automotive, Driverless car, Driverless cars, Smart driving cars