Technology driving force behind autonomous cars
Lecture to address changes as driverless vehicles proliferate
A change is coming down the road, and it’s every bit as dramatic as the transition from horse and buggy to automobile.
Driverless vehicles will start replacing vehicles as currently configured, and that change is already underway, said local architect Dale Dekker, a founding partner of the award-winning architecture and design firm, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini.
“I have no doubt it’s going to happen because of technology and the internet of things — everything is connected, from your phone to your car to your refrigerator,” he said during a
recent conversation.
“Ford is talking about building a car without a steering wheel and pedals by 2021. Best guesses are that by 2025 or 2030 most vehicles will be driverless and talking to each other. It’s coming at us very, very fast.”
Dekker will deliver a lecture Sunday at the Albuquerque Museum on the “Auto-Vehicle Revolution: The Impact of Driverless Cars on Our Cities and Our Way of Life.” The lecture is being sponsored by the Albuquerque International Association, a division of the Center for International Studies.
Large companies are already making huge investments in driverless vehicles, “including tractor-trailers, farm equipment, construction equipment, anything today that’s controlled by humans is being viewed by technology companies as a potential market,” Dekker said.
He noted that driverless cars have already been tested by Uber, Ford, Tesla and Google.
Most recently an autonomous driverless tractor-trailer navigated Interstate 25 from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs to deliver a cargo of beer. With 3.5 million truck drivers in the U.S., the demonstration illustrated the impact driverless vehicles could have on the supply chain, as well as the automotive insurance industry, auto body shops, congestion and vehicle occupant safety, Dekker said.
According to the National Safety Council, 38,300 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2015, and roughly 4.4 million sustained injuries that resulted in medical attention. The costs associated with those vehicle crashes, including medical expenses, wage and productivity losses, property losses and related spending was more than $412 billion, the NSC said.
The technology employed in driverless vehicles will greatly reduce traffic accidents and it is expected to reduce congestion by 60 to 80 percent. In addition, Dekker said, more fuel efficient cars, most incorporating battery technology, will reduce greenhouse gases and “create more green space in the cities” as roads and parking spaces are reduced and taken out of service.
Other changes triggered by driverless vehicles may include the elimination of parking structures and home garages as homeowners opt to forego car ownership in favor of door-to-door service by driverless vehicle services, or in favor of communal pick-up and drop-off areas for driverless vehicles.
“It’s a brave new world out there, with great opportunities and great challenges,” Dekker said.