A Detour In The Self-Driving Vehicle Race
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2016 has been the year we talk a lot about autonomous vehicles. A lot has happened this year. Google created Waymo, a self-driving vehicle company under the Alphabet umbrella. MIT designed a mini city for testing, and GM is testing on public roads in Michigan. Self-driving Ubers (with a driver for emergencies) are being tested in Pittsburgh as I type this.

Playing By The Rules

A few days ago Uber expanded this testing to San Francisco, but with some changes. The cars used in California are EX90 SUVS, the result of a collaboration with Volvo, who does not have a permit for self-driving cars from the California DMV. Uber claims that the vehicles are not fully autonomous, but the Ubers in Pittsburgh operate in self-driving mode most of the time. The DMV is demanding that the ride-sharing company stops testing the vehicles in California. There also might be some problems with the tech.

Self-Driving Woes

A self-driving Uber in San Francisco ran a red light on Wednesday, and there have been other claims that the cars are not working the way they should be. Because there have been no similar problems in the Pennsylvania testing, perhaps the technology cannot be simply bolted on to another type of vehicle.

I want self-driving cars more than anyone. It's the only thing I talk about. I texted my brothers in San Francisco as soon as heard about the testing. The stats are clear, the tech will save lives. I believe in the technology, but it needs to be carefully tested and adjusted. This is not something to cut corners with.

The tech is already here, but in parts. Our LK-9390 Lukas Dual Lens Dash Camera with GPS and ADAS features advanced driver systems and our RVS-BES02 Blind Spot Sensor System assists with highway driving and lane switching. Right now everyone is putting it all together.

The race is on (get it, cars?) for self-driving technology. However in technology, much like journalism, it's much more important to be right and not to be first. These companies should be focused on testing the right way, no matter how long it takes.