Following
the steps of Google –whose self driving car is currently being tested on public
roads in California –, it was German luxury car-maker Daimler AG’s turn to
reveal a Mercedes S-Class Sedan capable of driving itself at this year’s
Frankfurt Motor Show. The latest unveiling of driverless technology is part of
a recent trend wherein major automotive players, including General Motors,
Ford, Volkswagen, Audi, Toyota, BMW, Volvo and Nissan, are turning their interest
to driverless car systems in a bid to claim a slice of the potentially
lucrative market.
Expectations
for the market are high. A recent Navigant Research report estimates the sales
of autonomous vehicles to reach 95.4 million annually by 2035, a whole 75% share
of all light-duty vehicle sales. According to Google co-founder and special projects
director Sergey Brin, the opportunity for ordinary people to have a
self-driving car will be a reality in less than five years. With Nissan
announcing it would have a street-ready driverless car in 2020, the race is now
on among car manufacturers.
In the
United States, statistics show an increase in the number of older age citizens
who are active drivers. By 2020, 26% of the country’s population will be over
66 years of age. The industry’s spotlight is now on the potentially cash-rich
“silver tsunami” that is sweeping across the globe, with automakers turning to the
potential of driverless technology to engineer safer cars for an ageing
population with decreased abilities.
Car makers
have designed a customized “ageing suit” to obtain insights on the challenges
faced by elderly drivers. The suit mimics the constricted movements of an elderly
while specialized goggles distort colours and simulate poor eye vision, thus helping
car makers design features promoting a safer driving experience. Features include
blind spot monitoring and lane departure prevention systems, as well as
seatbelt-mounted rear airbags given elderly motorists appear more prone to
thoracic injuries.
Moving to
the local front and riding on the driverless technology wave is Singapore’s
first electric autonomous vehicle. As part of a two-year collaboration between
Nanyang Technological University, JTC Corporation and Induct TEchnologies, the
vehicle will be on trial soon. This is a timely breakthrough as a similar demographic
shift awaits Singapore – by 2030, one in five Singaporean residents will be age
65 and above. Though owning a Singapore-made driverless vehicle remains a distant
dream, the reality of being able to be hands-free while driving on the roads is
not a far-fetched one.
