People usually think of driverless or autonomous vehicles as driving them to a destination after simply giving a command, said David Strickland, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator.
GM’s Michael Robinson, however, told the panel autonomous vehicles are still some time away.
“Let me say for the record, that these types of systems are a significant distance into the future,” he said.
Rep. Tom Petri, Highways and Transit Subcommittee chairman, said the hearing’s purpose was to discuss advanced levels of vehicle autonomy potentially available to motorists in 10 -20 years.
“The most advanced level of autonomous vehicle is capable of navigating roads with limited or no action from the driver by utilizing a variety of optical sensors, radar, and computer algorithms,” the Wisconsin Democrat said. “The sensors deliver environmental data of the road and surrounding vehicles into the computer algorithm which then determines the appropriate driving maneuver.”
Ideally, autonomous vehicles could improve safety, decrease congestion and create more efficient infrastructure use, Petri said.
