Cars, trucks and the new ecosystem — powered by Artificial Intelligence Currently, there is significant investment in the wider automotive industry, focusing on Artificial Intelligence and specifically on the optimization of the — targeting mass production of cars of ‘level-5 autonomous tech’. At the same time, new players claim a leading role in the under-transformation automotive market: Uber is testing robo-taxis, Tesla is improving its Autopilot system and Google is running programmes on the development of autonomous cars via its subsidiary Waymo. self-driving technology Autonomous cars and trucks, self-organizing fleets, smart containers, driver-less taxis and smart cities, are just some examples of the reality to come for the transportation industry. The first iterations of the transition to autonomous cars have already happened: there are cars available in the market, offering advanced active safety systems — technology helping the driver to avoid accidents and risky situations — for example, and more. First studies confirm the hopes for for cars featuring such systems. auto-breaking, road-sign understanding, lane deviation alerts significant reduction in accidents involvement . In the near future, autonomous vehicle technology will bring massive changes, not only to the vehicles, but also to the entire ecosystem For example: Ownership The general interest will from to on demand. The cost of a will be significantly lower due to, among other factors, the capability of better utilization of the cars by the company operating the service. Combined with the flexibility of and , the lower cost will make this as-a-service approach very popular and possibly . shift owning a car consuming car services vehicle as a service accessing the service planning rides and trips the primary one Design — and especially the interior — will change dramatically, in terms of all , and . Up to now, cars have been developed around : . In today’s cars, the interior of the car is designed and arranged around driver’s position, since it is the driver that must be powered by control and information functions. Car design layout functionality supported use cases a major design constraint the steering wheel In the case of fully autonomous cars (level 5 autonomy), this design constraint is simply eliminated: steering wheel is becoming optional and it will gradually disappear. This will allow a new approach and : will have different shape and positioning (probably in the form of overlaying information on surfaces in the car); can be redesigned and arranged in totally new ways; the car will have its own or it will seamlessly connect to your preferred one — while providing context regarding the route, the car and driving conditions; in the interior will display information for the , , , about the area the car is moving through or the destination; or other digital content such as etc. The autonomous car will be transformed from a to a moving information or entertainment centre. additional degrees of freedom in designing car’s interior the control panel car seats digital assistant large surfaces state of the car the route maps useful information movies, news, social media updates transportation device, will have a role in these new, in-car user experiences: the connected car will have insights, not only about its environment, but also about its passengers. It will be fully aware of the explicitly stated or implicitly identified and will combine this knowledge with the ‘understanding of the situation’ associated with the trip, in order to promote relevant content. This could include or and the needs of the user. Smart advertisement preferences of the passengers interactive ads personalized offers matching the context of the trip Transportation systems will enable users to quickly setup their trips using multiple means of transportation, pay and manage everything via a smart phone or other connected device. This system will significantly benefit from fully autonomous cars: the AI-powered controller of the system will be able to , while offering great options to individual users or groups. With the , customers will be sharing an autonomous car across an optimized route — a much cheaper, safe and potentially ‘socially optimized’ experience — users in the car sharing similar interests. This will transform the way people commute and will impact the standard transportation networks. Transportation-as-a-Service monitor, coordinate and optimize the utilization of the fleet ride sharing services Insurance will be significantly impacted since the –feasible — promise of autonomous cars is ‘to minimize car accidents’. The transition to the new era will not be smooth — especially during the co-existence of normal and autonomous cars: the transition requires , , and new models to estimate risk. In the case of an accident, the connected car will be able to signal the local authorities for help, and also automatically report its state, the conditions under which the accident happened, and all the parameters needed. This will enable involved parties, including insurance companies, to minimize the effort required to analyse the incident, coordinate the activities and conclude on responsibilities and claims. Car insurance companies new processes new insurance products legal adaptation Transportation companies Tesla, Daimler Trucks, Uber and other companies — including technology startups — are working on the development of autonomous trucks and other vehicles for professional purposes. There is already a number of success stories — real-world experiments of goods moved by such trucks with minimal or no intervention by a human driver. At the same time, Amazon and other companies, are working on automating the delivery of small packages by leveraging autonomous technology — drones and/or cars. Cities The AI-driven revolution will also impact the way cities expand and grow. For example, the new era of cheaper, faster and safer transportation with autonomous vehicles, might trigger a — especially if you consider that the time spent in autonomous vehicles can be fully productive with the capabilities of a modern office. de-urbanization trend . On the positive side, we will witness a huge reduction of accidents and fatalities on the roads; lower operational costs and increased level of service. On the other hand, the technological unemployment will be high while a number of companies will fail to follow and adapt to the new order. Changes in the Transportation industry will be massive and impressive Read more on Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence: the impact on employment and the workforce Artificial Intelligence: A non-technical introduction — definition, applications and impact Data Quality in the era of A.I. What’s next on AI, AR, VR, NUI, Robotics, Data & Visualization, Blockchain George Krasadakis | Professional Profile | LinkedIn
