Achieving trust in autonomous vehicles requires trustworthy electronics
Autonomous vehicle technology is almost ready for widespread deployment—but people aren’t ready for autonomous technology. This is because they don’t yet trust the technology to make decisions fully on its own—thus inhibiting driver-assisted vehicles from transforming to truly autonomous vehicles. We accept a certain level of failures in technology like our laptops, smartphones and Wi-Fi because those limitations are merely inconveniences and we can live with that. Building a vehicle requires safety, security and automotive-quality considerations. But when it comes to technology where our lives are dependent on its performance, we have to hold it to a higher standard. Dependable electronics is a path forward with functional safety as a key feature to achieving this higher standard, and therefore trust. Unless drivers and passengers see autonomous technology as trustworthy, it won’t reach its full potential, as it won’t be used.