75 Percent of Cars in 2040 Will Be Autonomous: Experts

Expert members at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest professional association for the advancement of technology, believe that by 2040, 75 percent of cars on the road will be autonomous.

Distinguished members of IEEE have selected driverless cars as the most viable form of intelligent transportation and believes it will be the catalyst for transforming vehicular travel from what we know it as today. Over the course of the next 28 years, intersections, traffic flows, highways, and even the necessity for drivers’ licenses will change.

With vehicles being able to communicate with one another, we can only imagine how traffic-free intersections will become, but more importantly, how highway travel will change with driverless cars. Even if autonomous vehicles are sharing the roadways with traditional ones, designated lanes will streamline traffic and Dr. Alberto Broggi, IEEE Senior Member and professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Parma in Italy, believes that speed limits of up to 100 mph could be maintained safely by 2040.

And then there’s the scenario where not needing a driver’s license will be feasible. Car sharing programs will become more prevalent and useful since people of all ages will be able to utilize cars.

Whether or not this is truly the future we want as automotive enthusiasts, there’s a good bet that it’s the future we’re getting.

“Drivers and passengers are hesitant to believe in the technology enough to completely hand over total control,” said Jeffrey Miller, IEEE Member and Associate Professor in the Computer Systems Engineering department at University of Alaska. “Car manufacturers have already started to incorporate automated features, including parallel parking assistance, automatic braking systems and drowsy driver protection, to help people slowly ease into utilizing driverless technologies. Over the next 28 years, use of more automated technologies will spark a snowball effect of acceptance and driverless vehicles will dominate the road.”

[Source: IEEE]