If your first thought after reading the title was that it is an accurate description of Google’s autonomous vehicle prototype, you are not the only one.
A survey from IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) reveals that by 2035 mass-produced cars will be similar to Google’s self-driving concept, meaning they will not have steering Wheels, gas/brake pedals, horns, or rearview mirrors.
What that means is that all cars will be autonomous in 2035, according to more than 200 researchers, academicians, practitioners, university students, society members, and government agencies in the field of autonomous vehicles that participated in the survey.
According to participants in the survey, the biggest hurdles for the widespread adoption of self-driving cars are legal liability, policymakers and consumer acceptance, while cost, infrastructure, and technology were viewed as smaller obstacles.
As more driverless features are progressively incorporated into mass-produced vehicles, the majority of respondents believe rearview mirrors, horns, and emergency brakes will be removed by 2030, with steering wheels and gas/brake pedals to follow by 2035. Additionally, more than 75 percent of respondents also indicated that all 50 U.S. states would pass legislation allowing use of driverless vehicles by 2035.
The survey also listed the most important technologies that will make possible autonomous vehicles, with more than half of respondents (56 percent) believing that sensor technology is the most important, followed by software (48 percent), advanced driver assistance systems (47 percent) and GPS (31 percent). Accurate digital maps were also seen as a necessary function for self-driving cars, with 74 percent of respondents estimating that a complete digital map of the world will be available within the next 15 years.
By Dan Mihalascu
Story references: IEEE via Autoblog Green
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