Self-Driving Cars On the Road: How is the Industry Changing?

Everyone’s getting into the self-driving car game — even Ford, with its new spin-off, “Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC.” Yet the self-driving cars of today look a lot different from the self-driving cars being pitched just a few years ago, with slower, boxier models that are more feasible for our current technology.

The next few years should see some significant strides in these technologies, which aren’t as far away as many think.

Driverless Cars Are Already Here
Driverless cars are on the streets already; they just look a bit different than people expected. In general, they break down into two types of vehicle: a vehicle that delivers people and a vehicle that delivers things.

Shuttle services are being used to replace more traditional busses, with one such driverless vehicle in Detroit logging over 10,000 trips. This is really at the core of the driverless idea, as it could be used to replace many types of mass transit at a very low cost. Driverless technology could eventually replace ridesharing services entirely and could be used to create bus routes in rural areas that don’t already have them, as they could be used on an on-demand, app-based basis.

Self-driving cars are also being used for delivery services, such as delivering things like pizza. This can also provide an advantage for companies that rely upon deliveries, as single vehicles can be used for multiple deliveries and there would be no need for additional employees. When used for deliveries, self-driving cars often have some form of locked box or enclosed container that the individual must open in order to receive their object.

Delivery Cars Are Likely to be the First Wave
Delivering objects is, of course, far less risky than delivering people. The first strides in self-driving vehicles are very likely to be in the area of pizza delivery, as pizza delivery companies have a significant interest in reducing their own overhead and costs, in addition to reducing the potential for human error and accidents. If a car gets into an accident with a pizza, of course, there’s likely to be far less long-term damage. Pizza deliveries are also relatively simple compared to other types of driverless application, and it can be rolled out in specific neighborhoods for testing purposes — all of this combines into the perfect storm for companies looking to test out their driverless technology.

Of course, these projects are all still in their infancy. Many of them are small scale pilot projects that aren’t open to the general public. Instead, they are opt-in tests, or they are being used by companies that have opted-in on behalf of their employees. Nevertheless, if you live in a major city, it’s likely that you’ve already encountered a driverless vehicle or two. You may just not have recognized it when it passed by.

Who is Leading the Way With Driverless Cars?
Though driverless technology is being applied to everything from pizza to rideshare services, there are still only a few companies that are really progressing the technology itself. If you want to invest in driverless car technology, there are three that stand out: Alphabet, General Motors, and… BlackBerry.

This may require some explanation. Alphabet — Google’s parent corporation — created the original driverless cars and they remain major players, while General Motors is being very quick to adopt the technology. BlackBerry, on the other hand, has entered into the industry through a side route: by introducing its technology into driverless vehicles. And with BlackBerry already being a long shot in almost every other way, it’s a cheap bet.

Large companies are placing some substantial bets that driverless technology is the way of the future, and it’s probably wise for investors to listen. Driverless technology has advanced to the point where it can be used for rudimentary services, and this technology is being improved upon continuously. Though there hasn’t been a lot of momentous news about the technology, that’s actually a good thing: no major crashes, disasters, or regulatory snafus. All of this is very optimistic in favor of a future in which your car drives you.

Regards,

Ethan Warrick
Editor
Wealth Authority


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