India has no reason to be paranoid about automated driving

I was in Barcelona recently to witness the unveiling of the new Audi A8, the first production automobile in the world to be developed for highly automated driving.

I knew that the technology was in the offing but to see it in a production car, which is going to hit roads soon was amazing. I was excited about its possibilities in India but came back to news about the government not allowing driverless cars for the fear of job losses for trained drivers.

I do respect the view but it would be beneficial to look at advantages of driverless cars before taking a decision. According to statistics, nearly 1.5 lakh people were killed in accidents in India last year as compared to 1.46 lakh in 2015.

This means almost 410 Indians lost their lives every day because of accidents, while many others were injured. Experts say nearly 78 per cent of these accidents happened because of the driver’s fault. The government has announced that it will try to reduce fatalities by 50 per cent in the next three years.

This is one area where automated driving can really make a difference since chances of human error reduce with automation. Globally, researchers estimate that driverless cars could, by mid-century, reduce traffic fatalities by up to 90 per cent.

Consider North India, where the fog in winter reduces visibility on roads. This is where the Audi AI traffic jam pilot can help as it takes charge of driving in slow-moving traffic at up to 60 kmph on freeways and highways where a physical barrier separates the two carriageways.

From a technical perspective, the traffic jam pilot is revolutionary. During piloted driving, a central driver assistance controller (zFAS) permanently computes an image of the surroundings by merging the sensor data.

Apart from radar sensors, a front camera and ultrasonic sensors, Audi also uses a laser scanner. By the end of the day, driverless cars can control the car a lot better thanks to their sensory capabilities.

The automated driving technology will also help those who need cars but have difficulties driving; as in the case of disabled and old people who can now enjoy mobility. The traffic jam pilot manages starting, accelerating, steering and braking. This increases efficiency and reduces fuel usage and, consequently, carbon footprints. According to a McKinsey report, autonomous cars can reduce vehicular CO2 emissions by 300 million tonnes annually.

Since the traffic jam pilot manages it all, drivers no longer need to monitor the car permanently. They can take their hands off the steering wheel and focus on any other activity like watching onboard TV. As soon as the system reaches its limits, it calls on them to take back control of the vehicle. Today’s drivers spend an average of about 50 minutes per day at the wheel. Audi is investigating how this time could be used better in a self-driving automobile as part of the 25th Hour project. This is based on the assumption that an intelligent human-machine interface will learn the user’s individual preferences and adapt flexibly. In this way, customers gain full control of their time.

In a first step, the project team looked at people in Hamburg, San Francisco and Tokyo, focusing on two aspects — how is infotainment used in the car today? And what would people like to do with their free time in the car of the future? The results were then discussed with a variety of experts, including psychologists, anthropologists, and urban and mobility planners.

In a second step, the team defined three time modes that are conceivable in a self-driving car: Quality time, productive time, and time for regeneration. In the first case, people spend time with their children or telephoning family and friends. In productive time, they usually work while downtime sees them relax by reading, surfing the web or watching a film.

Driverless cars, likewise, allow people to use their time in the manner they wish to. In a country like India where there are long distances to be travelled everyday, this will be a boon as people can reach their offices/homes in a happier state of mind.

History has shown us that technology, which at first seems to threaten jobs has actually led to creation of many more. Take the example of computers where I remember the resistance to use them fearing job losses. However, look at how computers have revolutionised people’s personal and professional lives. They have created a string of jobs that were non-existent before they came along.

The other example is mobile phones, when there were concerns that people who had phone booths would lose out on their earnings. There is no denying the fact that mobile phones have created millions of additional jobs in India. There are mobile galleries, recharge-shops, handset retail, technology jobs, among others.

Even when mobility apps were launched, there were fears that businesses of taxis and autorickshaws would suffer, but today they coexist with each other and the customer has benefited. Similarly, we need to wait and watch for the potential of driverless cars while welcoming opportunities that emerge.

The writer is Head, Audi India