Every day, traffic accidents cost individuals and their families time, money, and sometimes, sadly, much more. Technology in modern vehicles can help prevent crashes or protect passengers in the event of a crash by alerting drivers of impending collisions, alerting emergency services after a collision has occurred, applying brakes or other corrective measures before the driver even has time to react herself, and/or preparing vehicle systems for impact when a collision seems imminent. Technology may also be the cause of some incidents because it demands a driver’s attention, taking at least some of his attention away from the primary task at hand.
According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Admin.), 37,133 people were killed on U.S. roadways in 2017, which is a 1.8% decrease from 2016. This dip in fatalities is despite a favorable economy and employment rate—factors that have historically correlated with an increase in traffic deaths rather than a decrease. The GHSA (Governors Highway Safety Assn.) says this progress should be celebrated, but there is still a ways to go toward the goal of zero traffic deaths. The GHSA advocates a combination of education (e.g., behavioral programs), engineering (e.g., technological solutions), and enforcement to continue to reduce highway fatalities.
Progress toward safe autonomous vehicles also promises to improve road safety by removing human error from the picture, at least partially. In one example of autonomous-vehicle technology progress, IIoT (industrial Internet of Things) company RTI (Real-Time Innovations) has announced Connext 6, connectivity software designed to accelerate the development and deployment of complex, highly autonomous systems. Because traditional approaches to data communications don’t address the technical challenges posed by highly autonomous systems, RTI says there must be a fundamental change in vehicles’ compute architecture and software.
For instance, highly autonomous systems (in the realm of Levels 4 and 5 autonomy) present unprecedented challenges in terms of the sheer volume of streaming data and the need to distribute this data to multiple places, while also leveraging AI (artificial intelligence) algorithms to analyze and respond to this information in realtime. With Connext 6, which will be generally available in 2019, RTI says developers will be able to efficiently distribute high-bandwidth sensor data to autonomous system applications, including applications for sensing, perception, visualization, mapping, and display. Importantly, the solution is built around RTI Connext DDS Secure, a security standard designed for realtime control and autonomous applications, allowing manufacturers to apply critical data-centric flow control over security policies.
Key to the success of an autonomous future will be the technology’s ability to perform as intended every time, and this will take years, maybe even decades to accomplish. When autonomous vehicles eventually rule U.S. roadways, traffic fatalities should plummet. But until then, drivers must be educated about the importance of driving sans distraction, and auto manufacturers must continue to plod toward the development and deployment of safe, autonomous and semi-autonomous features that compensate for human imperfections.
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Shiv has over 8 years experience working on Internet of Things and an avid user of Drones
