Data and the future of autonomous vehicles

The technology needed to bring autonomous vehicles to life is complex. For example, the following market landscape, from Vision Systems Intelligence, includes these components:

• Processing
• Sensors
• Connectivity
• Mapping
• Algorithms
• Security / Safety
• Development Tools

Aside from specific technologies, the unifying principle for any autonomous system, including vehicles, is data. The future automotive data ecosystem will include data from vehicles, sensors built into roads, communication with nearby vehicles, weather, and other sources.

This data ecosystem is highly complex and involves multiple parties in both the private sector and in government. As private companies develop technology and algorithms, they must partner with federal, state, and local governments that control the roads and make the policy decisions that will allow autonomous vehicles on the road.

It will take years to implement this complex environment completely. The Society of Automotive Engineers created a standard that describes progressive levels for vehicle automation:

The full article can be read here.