Research on autonomous cars has received a boost from the European Parliament, but the technology still raises many questions. Can it be safe and ethical? Will it totally eliminate the need for human drivers? And, of course: when will this happen?

A public consultation on robotics and Artificial Intelligence consultation coordinated in 2017 by the European Parliament covered, among other things, also autonomous vehicles. Based on the results of this consultation autonomous vehicles have been identified as a policy area requiring most urgent action.

On January 15th 2019, the European Parliament has approved a motion calling for greater development of and more funding for research on automated vehicles, while members also emphasised the need to establish appropriate rules regarding safety and liability. The stakes are high, because, as rapporteur Wim Van de Camp (EPP; NL) said: “Europe has to be innovative, but faster. China and the USA are not waiting.”

Jack Stilgoe, associate professor at University College London, fellow of the Alan Turing Institute concludes that: “the uptake of self-driving cars at scale will require substantial changes to behaviours, infrastructures and the rules of the road, as well as improvements in the technology inside the cars, which means that the transition will be much slower than the enthusiasts predict.”

You can read the full article here.

Source: sciencemediahub.eu

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