With almost all of the top car companies, and a number of technology companies all investing heavily in a future which sees cars able to drive themselves, it is important that we look at the implications such a future would have. At this point, it seems largely a reality that we will see cars which can drive themselves within a decade. In fact, we have already seen a number of automatic features in cars available now, such as the now ancient automatic gears, and the more recent braking and steering options which are available. In a future where all new cars have such functions included though, what can we expect? A large portion of our economy depends upon the drivers of commercial business, does this mean that such an evolution in our cars may damage our economy? Will we see an end to the age requirements for driving licenses? Will we see kids able to own their own cars, and move about town on their own? All of these questions deserve some consideration. Ultimately, we can assume that autonomous vehicles will make our society and economy more efficient, but will the costs be worth it? Either way, we can assume that it’s going to happen, and that their is very little we can do about it.

For a number of years, companies have invested heavily in operating systems capable of creating autonomous vehicles, or vehicles capable of driving themselves entirely. By companies, I don’t mean the typical car companies, such as BMW and ford alone, because this is also an interest for some of the tech companies of the world, they will probably be responsible for the successes in this venture. Anyway, a recent accomplishment from the industry is an automatic braking system. This braking system works through a number of sensors, which are able to sense when there is an obstacle in front of the car, and automatically brake. Whether the obstacle is a child foolishly running in front of the car, or another car unexpectedly braking themselves, the automatic braking system should engage and prevent an accident. All of the news coming out of the companies engaged in this goal seems to suggest that a truly autonomous vehicle may be closer to becoming a reality than we would expect, perhaps even within a decade, and this new bit of technology would seem to support this.