Autonomous driving

Autonomous driving is a technology that allows a car to drive itself without human intervention. Waymo's robotaxi has entered commercial operation.

Autonomous driving is a technology in which a car recognizes its surroundings, makes judgments, and drives without a human being at the steering wheel. Cameras and sensors act as the eyes, and AI acts as the brain, and it is divided into stages, from partial automation such as lane keeping assistance to fully autonomous driving without a driver at all.

The driving force behind development is that most traffic accidents result from human error and that driving time can be used for other activities. Waymo's robotaxi has entered commercial operation in some U.S. cities, showing that technology has come out of the laboratory, and Tesla and others are also entering the competition.

However, responding to adverse weather conditions such as rain or snow or unexpected situations is still a difficult problem, and legal and ethical issues such as who is responsible in the event of an accident are also being resolved. There are very different perspectives on when fully autonomous driving will become popular.

✅ Why it matters

• This is a representative application example of AI actually working in the real world
• It has the potential to reduce traffic accidents caused by human error
• It has the potential to change the entire mobility and logistics industry

⚠️ Limits and debates

• Problems with handling exceptions such as bad weather and unexpected situations still remain
• Laws and systems for liability in the event of an accident are still being developed
• Technology optimism has repeatedly brought forward the timing of commercialization