The six levels of autonomy for self-driving cars is a complicated issue. So many automakers claim level 4 autonomy will be coming out for their next model lineup, and then keep in the darkness dim-lit tunnel of level 3. It’s worthwhile to note that a lot of these level 3 autonomy features weren’t around a decade or two ago, but where are all the self-driving cars? Mostly commercial services that aren’t hitting any bumps in its development.

A major issue to automakers launching self-driving vehicles to the average consumer for retail is the lack of federal answers. In 2019, the self-driving Waymo took on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and lost, when it came to getting certified as an autonomous vehicle to enter the market. Aurora Innovation and again Waymo in January 2023 petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to weigh in on the matter, but their agency hasn’t responded. The NHTSA also blocks a lot of would be robotaxi companies, and the main reason is usually because there are no real standards or regulations set in stone for autonomous vehicles.

"Until we get those standards out there, I think larger deployments are tough…It'll happen, but it's challenging for all the stakeholders, including the general public." - Jeffrey Wishart, an Arizona State University professor and vice president of innovation at the Arizona Commerce Authority

It’s worth it to admit that yes, there have been some crashes and technical setbacks hitting the news lately. Autonomous car technology is not an exact science. Until we have artificial intelligence that can think like a person, a self-driving car may never be as safe as a responsible human driver. The push to develop self-driving vehicles is still strong but gets fuzzier the closer a company gets to a working model. That’s why every company should work out all the kinks and make sure the technology is always up-to-date with the latest features so when autonomous vehicles finally get the green light, these companies will be ready to deploy their vehicles into the auto market.

When that happens, it’s not like there will be a lack of companies to choose from. Aside from Alphabet subsidiary Waymo planning an expansion of its self-driving service to extend into the San Francisco Bay Area, Amazon subsidiary Zoox has announced a commercial service launch in Las Vegas is planned for the end of 2024, and three autonomous trucking companies — Kodiak Robotics, Aurora Innovation, and Gatik Inc. – expect to begin commercial service by the end of the year as well. Companies aren’t lacking or slow to move, but they aren’t hitting the auto market any time soon.

If and when they do, the auto industry will never be the same. Back in college, if someone didn’t want to write their paper, they may pay someone to do it. Now, give ChatGPT a word prompt and rewrite it in your voice. That’s how simple and easy it should be to operate a self-driving autonomous vehicles.

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Photo Source/Copyright: Waymo