How racing driverless cars is pushing autonomous technology

Hype over autonomous vehicles has sometimes outpaced reality. For years, forecasters have predicted that driverless cars, which would allow the average commuter to snooze or watch Netflix on their way into the office, were just around the corner.

Many experts have tempered their expectations. Widespread implementation of autonomous technology won’t be realized within the next decade, according to an analysis. But one expert believes that autonomous mobility still has a bright future.

He’s been working on robotics since the 1980s, and he’s surprised by how quickly autonomous technology has advanced. He sees this in his day-to-day work where researchers are working on everything from autonomous cars and drones to marine, agricultural, and manufacturing robotics.

Last month, the point was driven home when a university participated in an autonomous racing event. There have been other autonomous car races before, but this event was the first to include a race between four driverless cars.

The university, partnering with another institution, didn’t end up racing in the final as its car crashed a few days before. It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the four teams that did compete on a racing circuit. Technical issues plagued the event with cars stopping or spinning around.

Despite the difficulties, the expert wasn’t surprised. He said that some of the challenges were beyond the scope of current technology. Efforts to set driverless cars loose on public roads have faced setbacks. The ability to master challenging situations will be crucial before driverless vehicles can be widely adopted.

Observers and participants say that events like this may provide a productive training ground for driverless cars.