Chapter 13 – AI and the Internet of Things

1. Driving quickly to a location is better than safety in any situation. (Yes | No)

Yes and No.

Self-driving cars face the same difficulties as human-driven cars: getting to a location on time, respecting speed limits, or driving as safely as possible. Self-driving cars, like humans, are constantly improving their driving abilities through experience.

Yes. Sometimes, a self-driving car will perform better on a highway with little traffic.

No. Sometimes, if the highways are dangerous (owing to weather conditions and heavy traffic) a self-driving car should take a safer road defined by slow speed and little to no traffic. This way, if difficulties occur, the self-driving car can slow down and even stop more easily than on a highway.

2. Self-driving cars will never really replace human drivers. (Yes | No)

Nobody can answer that question. As self-driving cars build their abilities and experience, they might well end up driving better than humans.

In very unpredictable situations, humans can go off the road to avoid another car and back off a bit, for example. It will take more work to get a self-driving car to do that.

One thing is certain, though. If a human is driving all night and falls asleep, the self-driving car will detect the head slumping movement, take over, and save lives. The self-driving car can also save lives if the human has a medical problem while driving. 

3. Will a self-driving fire truck with robots be able to put out a fire one day? (Yes | No)

Yes. Combining self-driving fire trucks with robots will certainly save many lives when a fire department faces difficult fires to extinguish. Those saved lives include firemen who risk their own lives. It might help firemen focus on helping people while the robots do the tougher jobs. This robot-human team will no doubt save thousands of lives in the future.

4. Do major cities need to invest in self-driving cars or avoid them? (Invest | Avoid)

Invest. With slow but safe self-driving cars, commuters could share public, free or very cheap, electric self-driving cars instead of having to drive. It would be like having a personal chauffeur.

5. Would you trust a self-driving bus to take children to school and back? (Yes | No)

No. Not in the present state of self-driving cars. 

Yes, when self-driving cars, buses, and trucks prove that they can outperform humans. Self-driving vehicles will not make mistakes humans do: using smartphones while driving, talking to passengers without looking at the road, and much more.

6. Would you be able to sleep in a self-driving car on a highway? (Yes | No)

Not in the present state of self-driving vehicle technology.

Yes, when reliability replaces doubts.

7. Would you like to develop a self-driving program for a project for a city? (Yes | No)

That one is for you to think about! You can also apply the technology to warehouses for AGVs by contacting the companies or AGV manufacturers directly.