Self-drive cars get nearer

The automotive industry is on the brink of revolutionary change, which will be engendered by the advent of autonomous or "self-driving" vehicles and the timing may be sooner than you think, according to a new report by KPMG LLP, the US audit, tax and advisory firm, and the Center for Automotive Research (CAR).

The report, titled Self-Driving Car: The Next Revolution, is based on interviews with leading technologists, automotive industry leaders, academicians, and regulators as well as research and analysis of industry trends.

“For the past 100 years, the automotive industry has been a force for innovation and economic growth,” said Gary Silberg, national automotive industry leader for KPMG LLP and co-author of the report. "Now the pace of innovation is speeding up and the industry is on the brink of a new technological revolution with ‘self-driving’ vehicles.”

In the report, KPMG and CAR present the hypotheses on how self-driving vehicle technology could unfold and its potential impacts, with an emphasis on the convergence of sensor-based and communication-based vehicle technologies.

The report points out that the new technology could provide solutions to some of our most intractable social problems the high cost of traffic crashes and transportation infrastructure, the millions of hours wasted in traffic jams, and the wasted urban space given over to parking lots, just to name a few.

“For those who embrace innovation and opt to lead rather than follow, a new frontier is opening in the realm of mobility services,” Richard Wallace, director, Transportation Systems Analysis at CAR and co-author of the report, said. “Some may ask if it is still just science fiction or if the market will accept them and pay for them. We think the answer is a resounding yes. The marketplace will not merely accept self-driving vehicles; it will be the engine pulling the auto industry forward.”