Companies are searching for ways to reinvent the wheel when it comes to driving, delivery and security.
People in parts of the world are already testing driverless cars, drones that deliver food, robotic couriers and security guards. There are even driverless aircraft in the works.
While it may seem like wishful thinking to believe St. Albertans would see this technology anytime soon, some say, think again.
Paul Godsmark, chief technology officer for the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence, says industries are already unlocking the future of autonomous technology.
“We're entering into the era of autonomous robots. Anything that moves that could be a value to society, it will be automated and it will be here in the next 10 years, but probably much sooner.”
“You can't fight the future, it's going to happen.”
Godsmark is a moderator for a popular autonomous technology page on Reddit. On the page people discuss different ideas surrounding autonomous vehicles, share information and debate issues about autonomous vehicles.
Robert Millang is a fanatic of autonomous technology and co-moderator of the page. He says out of all the autonomous technologies being developed, autonomous vehicles are going to leave the biggest impact.
“Autonomous ride-sharing vehicles are going to be the biggest game changer,” he says. “This could completely change things because you no longer need to own a car to get around.”
He says a number of autonomous technologies are in the works, with plans to be rolled out commercially.
Autonomous Vehicles
Driverless vehicles are charging forward with General Motors competing against Google, Uber and Tesla in unleashing the new technology.
The vehicles are equipped with lidar, cameras, sensors and other hardware that reads the external environment and safely transports customers.
It can determine how to read traffic lights, where pedestrians are walking and even halt if an animal unexpectedly leaps in front of the vehicle.
The auto industries are looking to get involved in the ride-sharing business instead of selling each car individually.
If successful the effort would take millions of cars off the roads and substantially cut down travel time, costs and traffic.
Auto industries involved
General Motors – In June the company completed a mass production of 130 Chevrolet Bolt EV test vehicles in Michigan. The vehicles have next-generation self-driving technology and have joined 50 current-generation self-driving Bolt EVs. The 50 vehicles currently on the streets are being tested in San Francisco, Arizona and Detroit.
Earlier this month the company launched ‘Cruise Anywhere,' open to about 10 per cent of its employees in San Francisco. Autonomous Chevrolet Bolts can be summoned via an app, much like Uber.
Godsmark says he was at a conference last month when GM announced that they would have a commercial service for the Bolt within months.
Waymo – The auto company started working on self-driving technology in 2009 with Google. Dubbed the ‘Google self-driving car project,' the company sent Toyota Prius vehicles onto highways.
By 2012 they added the Lexus RX450h and had Google employees try the technology out. That same year the vehicles were rolled out on city streets.
Fast-forward to 2017, Waymo – now an independent company from Google – launched vehicles in Arizona open for the public to try.
Upon being approved through an application process, people can use the driverless vehicles and provide feedback to the company.
Uber – Uber has been tied up in a lawsuit with Waymo, with Waymo charging the company for patent infringement and stealing trade secrets.
Lawsuit aside, Uber has been working on its own driverless vehicles in order to remain in the ride-sharing game. Earlier this year the company put together a research group in Toronto to work on its technology.
Last year Uber launched driverless vehicles in Pittsburgh, but has since hit a few roadblocks.
Tesla – Last year the company announced that the Model 3, Model S and Model X vehicles would possess the hardware needed to become driverless.
The cars currently have autopilot capabilities that include: match speed to traffic conditions, keep within a lane, automatically change lanes without requiring driver input, transition from one freeway to another, exit the freeway when your destination is near, self-park when near a parking spot and be summoned to and from your garage.
According to the companies website, not all the features are currently working, pending regulatory approval and performance testing on the software. As features are tried and tested they will be rolled out through over-the-air updates.
Millang says the timeline on when we would see autonomous vehicles in St. Albert is debatable, but he says it could happen in the next decade.
“It's really hard to say,” he says. “Because of the weather, there are a lot of other places you'd like to deploy these before coming to Edmonton.”
Preparing Ahead
When it comes to autonomous technology, the sky is the limit. From portable bedroom pods that could be stored in garages to driverless pods that connect on the freeways, Godsmark says anything is possible.
He says regardless of timeline, industries should prepare for the future.
“There are all these ripple effects that go right through the community,” he says. “There's a lot of jobs under threat because of this, which is another reason we're trying to raise awareness of how powerful an impact this is going to have.”
He says it's hard for people to imagine this technology being right around the corner, especially if their jobs depend on it.
This could be from tow-truck companies to large-scale capital transit projects and from food delivery couriers to truck drivers.
For people in these industries their day-to-day jobs have them focused on present-day challenges, such as infrastructure and development. To think of a future without their jobs seems far-fetched, based on how necessary their current role is.