Potential Impact Of Self-Driving And Electric Cars On The Automobile Industry

Threats and Vulnerabilities in Self-Driving Cars

Question:

Discuss about the Emerging Technology in Business for Review of the Literature.

Tesla is on the verge of manufacturing fully autonomous cars that do not require human intervention at all. However, the self-driving car that has been launched by Tesla recently contains various threats and vulnerabilities. The positive impact of the self-driving cars has been discussed throughout the report. The potential benefits will attract any customers to purchase and drive. However, there are numerous glitches that are involved with the self-driving. Lambert (2016) has highlighted that the hackers malicious attack can disrupt the system of the autonomous cars. The algorithms and the artificial intelligence technology incorporated within the system are not strong and efficient enough thus contains multiple flaws. The researchers are conducting researches to make the car fully autonomous, the autonomous car manufacturers alongside Tesla are continuously making efforts to innovate the existing autopilot cars.

The potential impact of the self-driving cars has been discussed in the report. The cars have lots of benefits to offer, the cars drive cautiously, the cars always follow the traffic rules and regulations, the driver will not have to drive himself. Besides the benefits, there are disruptions associated with the self-driving cars. According to Dikmen and Burns (2016), the self-driving cars have multiple flaws that have addressed in the report. The rise of the self-driving cars can prove to be a serious threat to the taxi industry. However, there are multiple flaws associated with the self-driving cars and those flaws have been well highlighted in the report. Lin (2016) has stated that the self-driving cars still are in development mode and they require mass improvement. That is why the taxi industry can be assured that they are still safe. The main flaws are that the autonomous cars cannot detect the roadblocks; even the cars cannot detect any traffic police’s wavering of hands. The malware attack can make the system of the car vulnerable. Sometimes the cars can even malfunction due to software or any hardware glitches. Thus the cars cannot replace the personal driver. Even the cars require human intervention all the time; someone needs to be there behind the wheel to drive the car. Rogerson (2017) showcases that the advent of the electric cars and the self-driving cars are imposing pressure on the automobile industry who manufactures cars that run on petrol and oil. The electric cars or e-vehicle will surely be going to replace the cars that run on oil. The report has analysed the disruption caused by the self-driving cars. Researchers are conducting researches to innovate the autonomous cars so that they can be fully autonomous and will not require human intervention at all.

Benefits and Disruptions Associated with Self-Driving Cars

The self-driving cars are responsible for driving cars automatically. Though the cars are autonomous, still the drivers need to be aware of the technical aspects of the cars. The drivers still need to know how to drive a car. The high tech self-driving car may falter and in that case, the driver of the car will have to take control of the car and he will have to drive himself. That means the driver must have the desired driving knowledge. The cost of these high tech cars is too high for the citizens, not all people can afford to buy those expensive cars. As per Rakovic (2016), the taxi industry can be assured that the citizens will still use their service. The citizens have fear of accidents so they still prefer the taxi. The security concerns are there in case of the high tech cars. The hackers can hack the system of the high tech cars and can make the cars vulnerable to attack. Any hackers can hack and use the cars for their benefits. Thus the citizens are cautious about the security breach thus prefers the taxi industry.  The self-driving cars are not capable of fully eliminating the chance of car accident issues and so the citizens are preferring the taxi to self-driving cars. The self-driving cars are not capable to fully operate at all weather conditions; the normal taxi will very easily root out the self-driving cars. Also, in case of traffic signal failures, the self-driving cars are not capable to interpret the human signals. The self-driving cars cannot detect the wavering of hands. These cars are not efficient to detect the roadblocks. Hull (2016) has stated that the GPS device incorporated into the car can even give false directions that can lead to accidents. Thus all these factors are major drawbacks of self-driving cars which ensure that the taxi drivers and their industry are still safe. The self-driving cars are under development and have lots of flaws, thus the taxi drivers can carry on their business venture. Legally, the self-driving cars of today are not proficient enough to replace the taxi industry; however, it is hoped in mere future these cars will up with some innovative aspects.

The tech giants, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are all working on to manufacture fully autonomous cars. The cars manufactured by duo look promising and it is hoped that they will come up with more advanced cars in future. However, the autonomous cars that exist today have multiple flaws so the today’s self-driving cars are capable to replace the personal driver. The full development of those cars is still under questionnaire, the cars can malfunction. Fridman, Jenik and Reimer (2017) showcase that the drivers still need to have knowledge of driving for safety purpose in case if the autonomous cars malfunction. Also, the security breaches can lead to malfunction of the car, the autonomous cars are not proficient to detect the roadblocks, and also it is not proficient to detect the wavering of hands. Thus there are multiple opportunities which can lead to car accidents. Again, the cars as mentioned are not efficient to drive in adverse weather conditions, in heavy rain. The GPS system, the accurate mapping system can be wrong, thus the cars can be misled to drive in the wrong direction and this can lead to accidents. Therefore, there are flaws residing which can ensure that these autonomous cars are not capable to replace the personal cars. The self-driving cars of today are not efficient enough to drive itself that is why in terms of security they cannot replace the personal drivers, however, it is hoped in coming future these cars will up with some advanced features.

Challenges Associated with Making Fully Autonomous Cars

The new technology cars have the benefits that can ensure the safety of the people. The humans have not the capability to anticipate the situations located miles away, while the self-driving car has. The cars have the capability to anticipate the situations miles away, to anticipate the cars miles away. According to Raj et al. (2017), the car drivers use smartphones while driving. They call and listen to music while driving and this lead to car accidents. The drivers generally forget to tie up the seat belts, they also engage in rash driving as well. The drivers even do not follow the rules and regulations. The drivers even drive exceeding the speed limit. The cell phone usage and texting is also the area of concern for security. The self-driving cars do not exceed the speed limit at any cost; the cars even follow each and every traffic rules and regulations. These cars always drive cautiously. The cars are programmed in such a way such that they can avoid collision with each other. These autonomous cars generally drive in a cautious manner avoids collisions and accidents. The drivers use smartphones while driving and thus cause accidents. The self-driving cars have no chance at all. Also, the drivers sometimes drink and drive, then there is no chance of drink and drive in case of self-driving cars. Sometimes the drivers suffer from depression and emotional stress and this leads to all kinds of accidents. Hull (2016) explains that the self-driving cars work on specific algorithms and programs thus the self-driving cars drive on the basis of technology. Thus the self-driving cars and its associated technology can bring safety and to the people.

The giant oil companies greatly underestimated the influence of the electric cars and favour the oil-based cars. However, according to the latest trends, it can be found that the auto industry will affect the petrol and oil in both short-term and the long-term basis.  Ingle and Phute (2016) highlight that the growth of the electric cars is more likely to lessen the growth of the oil demand, the popularity of the EVs will certainly sabotage the usage of oil in the coming decades. A fraction of cars sold in the market today is run on batteries rather than petrol and oil. However, the analysts have predicted that this trend will change in future with the coming of EV models in the market. OPEC also showed it concern; they claimed that the rise of electric vehicles could diminish the oil and petrol demands in various parts of Asian countries. Nelson (2015) has stated that Tesla EV cars have decided to manufacture EV cars that will replace the cars run on oil and petrol. The batteries are expensive right now; research is going to lower down the price of the batteries. Thus the technology-driven cars have lots to offer. Besides, the cars are environment-friendly, the electric cars have the potential to diminish the air pollution that is why they are capable of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. Thus it is ethical to use these cars and they should replace the oil and petrol based cars.

Electric Cars and their Potential to Replace Petrol and Oil-based Cars

The organisations must prepare their staff for the revolutionary change; the electric cars are going to take away the market of the vehicles currently running on petrol and oil. Therefore, the organisation managers and the CEO must be aware of the fleet management. According to Laugier (2016), the EVs’ demands are increasing every day. The manufacturers are more focused on manufacturing e-vehicles and the customers are showing interests too. Ross (2016) showcases that the staffs must know the underlying infrastructure of the e-vehicles, should have skills in the e-vehicle services. Tesla must educate the staffs about their self-driving cars and the electric cars so that they can provide better services to the customers. The staff must be ready to accept the changes and must learn the requirements according to the company needs. The staff will have to demonstrate the benefits and detail specifications of the e-vehicle to the clients or the customers. The sales team must advertise the e-vehicles to increase the productivity and sales of the company. In this way everyone can know about the e-vehicles, everyone can be encouraged about the technology and innovation. Thus the e-vehicles are both socially and culturally acceptable and people should adopt them for good.

No it is completely unsafe to not include the drivers behind the wheel. The self-driving cars come with advanced sensor and they consist of advanced algorithms. Though they look promising, but they have multiple glitches which must be addressed. The driverless cars are prone to accidents, the system within can malfunction at any time. The hackers or the attackers can even attack the cars and the make the cars vulnerable. Goldstein (2016) highlights that the self-driving cars are not fully equipped for all weather conditions, in heavy rainy conditions the car can malfunction, thus it is required to include human behind the wheel. Again the cars do not have the capability to know any roadblocks; it also fails to interpret any signals on the road. The cars cannot detect wavering of hands. Thus the self-driving cars do not have the capability to detect the wavering of hands of the traffic police. The driver is required to manage those difficult situations. Also the roadblocks can lead to fatal accident; the drivers can understand the possible reasons and can act accordingly. Again, the GPS sensors can malfunction; in that case the GPS sensors can give false notifications and false interpretations. According to Brown (2017), the self-driving cars solely drive on the basis of locations provided by the GPS sensors. Thus if the GPS devices give false interpretations it may happen the self-driving cars can face fatal accidents. The human intervention is absolute necessity, in case the autonomous cars fail, the humans can take control of the car. The self-driving cars exist today are not fully capable to drive all alone safely and securely. There are areas which require improvement. The research is going on. Tesla is also researching to find some better alternative. However, the driver intervention is required till the cars become fully autonomous. Solon (2016) explains that the self-driving cars require mass improvement and the flaws discussed in the report must be mitigated. The self-driving cars are beneficial and if those flaws are mitigated then the cars can be used safely and securely and also human interaction will not be required any more. In this way, the security implications can be made with respect to self-driving cars.

Preparing Staff for the Transition to Electric Cars

Conclusion

It can be concluded from the above discourse that the self-driving cars can create huge impact on human lives. There are multiple benefits that the self-driving cars offer. These cars drive cautiously and with care, they always follow the traffic rules and regulations and signals. They are programmed in such a way they will avoid collision with each other while they will hit the road. The humans will not have to learn driving and will not have to take extra effort, the self-driving car will make things simple for them, the people can move to any places with the help of these cars. However, there are certain drawbacks which these cars have that must be taken into consideration. These cars can be hacked by hackers, these cars fail to interpret the roadblocks or traffic police’s wavering of hands. The GPS sensors if malfunction these cars can face fatal accidents. That is why one should sit behind the wheels. The report has highlighted the benefits of e-vehicles. The social, cultural, legal and security implications with respect to self-driving cars have been highlighted in this discourse. The autonomous cars are improving and it is hoped they will come up with innovative features and will not require any kind of human intervention at all.

References

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Burns, C.M., 2017. Automation and the Human Factors Race to Catch Up. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, p.1555343417724975.

Dikmen, M. and Burns, C.M., 2016, October. Autonomous Driving in the Real World: Experiences with Tesla Autopilot and Summon. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications (pp. 225-228). ACM.

Fridman, L., Jenik, B. and Reimer, B., 2017. Arguing Machines: Perception-Control System Redundancy and Edge Case Discovery in Real-World Autonomous Driving. arXiv preprint arXiv:1710.04459.

Goldstein, D., 2016. Autonomous Vehicles Will Drive Themselves-But They Won’t Regulate Themselves. Hastings Bus. LJ, 13, p.241.

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