Does anyone else think that the massive decrease in driving (due to lockdowns) is a game-changer for the outlook on autonomous vehicles? Suppose we can embrace a society with fewer drivers, isn't that better for autonomous vehicles by most metrics?
I expect we will see gradual conversion of roads to be more amenable to autonomous driving - barriers for pedestrians, special markings, etc - and autonomous zones will become more and more commonplace.
On the other hand I think with the collapse of the economy and skyrocketing unemployment, the price for a human driver may plummet. Remains to be seen if the increased demand in deliveries is enough to offset the voids left in the rest of the economy.
I don’t see it happening for the US that way. The increased cost of infrastructure would probably be too much? Unless the US figures out how to lower construction/maintenance costs reliably, I don’t see those features being added. It feels like we’re already pretty low on features... It takes years for faded lines to be repainted on the road.
Long term Autonomous cars are likely to need less markings or barriers than normal drivers not more. Why have road signs when updating a database somewhere is cheaper? We are at the stage of people in the 1960’s talking about long term computer trends.
