""A tragedy tends to focus discussion in a way that a broader speculation cannot," Bryant Walker Smith said. The tragedy he was referring to was therecent fatality that occurred in a Tesla Model S that was operating in Autopilot mode. When neither the driver, Joshua Brown, nor Autopilot—an autonomous driving feature—failed to brake, the car crashed into a tractor trailer, killing the driver.
Smith, a professor at the University of South Carolina, is one of the leading experts on the legal aspects of self-driving vehicles. He was speaking at an event hosted on Wednesday by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).
The accident brought attention to the fact that self-driving technology, if just in small part, has become woven into our highway ecosystem. And, many wonder if automakers like Tesla have gone too far releasing new self-driving technology—although we argue that a fuller context is necessary before placing blame for that accident.
But, how close are we, really, to fully self-driving cars?
"The technology is not ready; it's not demonstrated," Smith said. The webinar, which focused on the barriers toward widespread integration of automated vehicles, was a preview of the discussions that will take place at the upcoming Automated Vehicles Symposium, held July 19-21 in San Francisco."
- Date Published:07/07/2016
- Original Publication:TechRepublic