Why It's So Hard to Make a Reliable Self-Driving Car
Two decades ago, the US military kicked off the race to build self-driving cars by sending a fleet of fledgling robot vehicles across the Mojave Desert in its seminal Darpa challenge. By 2015, autonomous vehicle technology was being widely pursued, and the industry was abuzz with predictions that driverless cars would soon be everywhere.
It didn't happen. Some legacy carmakers and startups abandoned their efforts, citing excessive costs and complexity. Regulators stepped up scrutiny of the emerging technology after crashes involving cars equipped with partial-automation systems.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Chemtrails: why is RFK Jr battling a debunked conspiracy theory?
The Trump administration appears sceptical about the climate crisis but is deeply concerned about another weather phenomenon: chemtrails. To conspiracists, chemtrails are visible trails left by commercial airliners, lasting longer than the usual condensation trails from jets and containing unknown, sinister chemicals. To weather scientists, chemtrails are a myth based on misidentification and a lack of understanding about how different humidity levels cause contrails to disappear quickly or linger and grow. The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, is determined to take action on chemtrails. During a recent TV discussion, when an audience member said chemtrails were her biggest health worry, Kennedy affirmed that material was being added to jet fuel. 'I'm going to do everything in my power to stop it,' he said. 'Find out who's doing it and holding them accountable.' Kennedy said he was trying to discover which government department was responsible. He suggested the culprits might be Darpa, the Pentagon's advanced research arm. While there really has been military research into contrails, this was aimed at reducing them to make planes harder to spot. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Despite many claims, there is no evidence of nefarious substances being covertly added to commercial jet fuel. But to conspiracists, this only proves there must be a cover-up.
AU Financial Review
4 days ago
- AU Financial Review
Why it's so hard to make a reliable self-driving car
Two decades ago, the US military kicked off the race to build self-driving cars by sending a fleet of fledgling robot vehicles across the Mojave Desert in its Darpa challenge. By 2015, autonomous vehicle technology was being widely pursued, and the industry was abuzz with predictions that driverless cars would soon be everywhere. It didn't happen. Some legacy car makers and start-ups abandoned their efforts, citing excessive costs and complexity. Regulators stepped up scrutiny of the emerging technology after crashes involving cars equipped with partial-automation systems.
Bloomberg
04-06-2025
- Bloomberg
Why It's So Hard to Make a Reliable Self-Driving Car
Two decades ago, the US military kicked off the race to build self-driving cars by sending a fleet of fledgling robot vehicles across the Mojave Desert in its seminal Darpa challenge. By 2015, autonomous vehicle technology was being widely pursued, and the industry was abuzz with predictions that driverless cars would soon be everywhere. It didn't happen. Some legacy carmakers and startups abandoned their efforts, citing excessive costs and complexity. Regulators stepped up scrutiny of the emerging technology after crashes involving cars equipped with partial-automation systems.
