Trust will be the single biggest factor in the deployment of autonomous vehicles on public roads, Kristin Kolodge, executive director of driver interaction and human machine interface at J.D. Power told Mobility Buzz.
“This is going to mean that what we can do as an industry, is to increase the awareness about what this technology can do,” she said. “What is the role of the driver? Because these expectations need to be very well understood.”
If the autonomous vehicle user has a bad experience or they misunderstand what his or her role as a driver is, or what the vehicle’s capabilities are, that can set back the trajectory towards accepting automation “quite a bit,” she added.
Mobility Buzz spoke with Kolodge about key technology developments in the autonomous space and the evolution of rideshare. Following are edited excerpts from the interview:
Mobility Buzz: What esoteric technologies are you watching right now that you think will become mainstream in the near future?
Kristin Kolodge: A lot of the tech surrounding cameras seem to be very elevated, from a consumer interest awareness. We have been studying several camera-based technologies, such as replacing a rear-view mirror with a camera display — like Cadillac’s CT6 version. But also side-view mirrors, replacing those with a camera instead. Those have been two top technologies, year over year, in our studies for future technology, and the likelihood that consumers will purchase those is really high.
We consider cameras to be one of the technologies that essentially would be an automation gateway technology, much like radar and LiDAR and all other sensors. So it’s interesting to see the level of acceptance and purchase intentions for these camera-based systems because I think that is certainly going to proliferate the other levels of driver assistance, as well as automation technologies.
MB: What regulations could delay the deployment of autonomous vehicles?
KK: There have been quite a bit of discussions within the U.S., at least, of the federal mandate versus a state-by-state regulation. I think that from my experience in the auto industry, having one platform is probably going to be a stronger enabler than a state-by-state regulation. As automakers and companies develop this technology — as well as once it’s implemented on the road — just understanding the differences as you cross state borders, I think it will be confusing to owners and potentially a detractor. But to me, anything that we can do to have one guideline overall for the entire United States I think will be a better enabler for us to deploy this technology.
MB: How likely is it for ridesharing to become autonomous?
KK: It’s almost as equal of a likelihood as consumer vehicles becoming autonomous. However, it might be a step behind, because ridesharing at this moment in time is kind of barely scratching the surface. I think it has opportunity that it is such an open wide space that it might be able to move into this autonomous realm and claim it’s unique level in that way more easily than a typical vehicle because it is such a newer mobility concept. It has a bit more of an open playground.