Autonomous vehicles may not be so autonomous

• Published date: 19 September 2022
• Publication title: Otago Daily Times (New Zealand)

AUTONOMOUS vehicle (AV) startups have raised tens of billions of dollars based on promises to develop truly self-driving cars, but industry executives and experts say remote human supervisors may be needed permanently to help robot drivers in trouble

The central premise of autonomous vehicles — that computers and artificial intelligence will dramatically reduce accidents caused by human error — has driven much of the research and investment.

But there is a catch: Making robot cars that can drive more safely than people is immensely tough because self-driving software systems simply lack humans’ ability to predict and assess risk quickly, especially when encountering unexpected incidents or ‘‘edge cases’’.

‘‘Well, my question would be, ‘Why?’,’’ Kyle Vog, chief executive of Cruise, a unit of General Motors, said when asked if he could see a point where remote human overseers should be removed from operations.

‘‘I can provide my customers peace of mind knowing there is always a human there to help if needed,’’ Vogt said.

‘‘I don’t know why I’d ever want to get rid of that.’’

This is the first time Cruise has acknowledged the long-term need for remote human operators.

Like air traffic controllers, such human supervisors could be sitting hundreds of kilometres away monitoring video feeds from multiple AVs, sometimes with a steering wheel, ready to step in and get stuck robot drivers moving again: AVs invariably stop when they cannot figure out what to do.

Alphabet Inc’s Waymo and Argo, which is backed by Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG, declined to comment when asked the same question.

GM recalled and updated software in 80 Cruise self-driving vehicles this month after a June crash in San Francisco injured two people. United States safety regulators said the recalled software could ‘‘incorrectly predict’’ an oncoming vehicle’s path, and Cruise said the unusual scenario would not recur after the update.

For some, the idea that human supervisors could be here to stay raises more doubts about the technology.

Truly autonomous vehicles are far behind the optimistic rollout schedules predicted just a few years ago.

In 2018, GM sought US government approval for a fully autonomous car without a steering wheel, brake or accelerator pedals that would enter its commercial ride-sharing fleet in 2019. That vehicle, the Cruise Origin, now is not slated to begin production until 2023, Vogt said.

In 2019, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk promised a million robotaxis ‘‘next...