Autonomous cars have seemed a long way off for quite some time, but Forbes says they’re closer than we think–in fact, they list five trends that they say we need to be ready for this year, if not soon after:
- Level 5 AVs. Completely driverless cars may be on the road (the real one, not a test track) by 2020.
- A fully driverless, coast-to-coast trip. An AV has gone from New York to San Francisco, but a driver took the wheel a few times along the way. Look for that to change.
- Autonomous trucking. Mercedes Benz plans to launch its Arocs semi-autonomous trucks next year. Fully driverless big rigs are doubtless on its heels.
- Mainstream driverless ride-sharing. “If all goes to plan,” says the article, “2019 could be the year we call for a taxi, and a vehicle turns up with no one sitting in the driver’s seat!”
- More AV tech in human-driven cars. Brake assist, lane-switching help, and other technologies developed for driveless vehicles will be introduced in our driven cars this year.