Autonomous vehicles: Are we steering in the right direction?

Technology Untangled

Autonomous vehicles are a hot topic. Their incredible ability – and at times lack of it – is a source of controversy as much as a source of wonder, from avoidable crashes to drivers literally sleeping at the wheel. What's undeniable is that you can now theoretically sit in a car and let it take control as it guides you along the road. But is that actually a good idea? Is technology truly ready to take the wheel? In this episode, we’ll be meeting some of the people and organisations aiming educate us about the limitations - and build appropriate levels of trust - in autonomous vehicles.

We'll be meeting with Dr Claire Blackett of the Institute for Energy Technology in Norway, an expert in human-centred design who is keen to ensure that the flawed human driver isn't forgotten in the race for automation. We'll also be chatting to Dr Lionel Robert of the University of Michigan, who specialises in building trust in autonomous vehicles, and sees a near future of blended driving where driver and machine will share the burden as we slowly build to full automation.

We'll also talk to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chief Technologist, Matt Armstrong-Barnes, to discuss how far away we truly are from real AV's (spoiler, it's decades) and ways we can safely transition to a driverless world through small steps, and an increasing use of emerging AI technologies.

And finally, we'll be talking to Erik Coelingh, head of product at Volvo-Owned automotive safety firm, Zenseact. They are focusing on using incremental steps in autonomous vehicle technology and AI to make humans the best drivers they can be in a world where automotive technology increasingly encourages us not to concentrate.

The long show notes for this episode can be found here: https://community.hpe.com/t5/HPE-Blog-UK-Ireland/Autonomous-vehicles-are-we-steering-in-the-right-direction/ba-p/7170668#.YtZUTXbMKUk