Boston has a reputation for rough streets filled with bad drivers, but one autonomous vehicle startup aims to make the streets safer through a pilot autonomous taxi program. nuTonomy, which was founded appropriately enough at MIT, will launch a fleet of manned autonomous taxis to brave the risky, crowded streets of Boston sometime in the near future.
When that might be is still up in the air as the company enters a tangled web of municipal, state and federal regulations. Since the program is a pilot, it may get more go-ahead than, say, a full-scale autonomous vehicle product launch, but it will still encounter delays in the immediate future.
Once autonomous vehicles are fully-realized as a technology through pilot programs like this one, many assert that they will dramatically reduce vehicle accidents and make the road a safer place. At the same time, autonomous vehicle accidents like one Tesla faced this summer signal that the transitional path will be far from smooth. Consumers will have to remain protective of their rights to safety and security even in light of such promising technologies.
Bots Turned Beantown Cabbies
When nuTonomy’s program does eventually launch in Boston, it will face a myriad of challenges. Winding roads, heavy snowfall and famously aggressive drivers will all make life difficult for the AIs behind the wheel of the nuTonomy fleet.
And that’s exactly the way the company wants it. The difficult conditions of Boston driving make the area a perfect test case for autonomous technology. Contrary to nuTonomy’s initial tests in more laid-back Singapore, Boston roads will present navigational challenges and unpredictable drivers. It will also have to contend with obscured lane markings once snow and ice blanket the roads.
This setting is absolutely perfect for the technology’s trial by fire.
“We’ll see challenges there we haven’t seen before,” Karl Iagnemma, nuTonomy’s co-founder and CEO, told Wired magazine.
As the vehicle system’s encounter unanticipated challenges, its AI and the entire development team backing the project will no doubt have missteps to learn from. With each mistake comes a correction that improves the dynamic capabilities of an autonomous vehicle in any setting.
However, this learning process may also impel nuTonomy to focus on location-specific programming to best-fit typical driving conditions. “If you’re in Boston, New York, Singapore, or Phoenix, you have to adapt software accordingly,” explains Iagnemma.
Broad Bureaucratic Support, But Concerns About Autonomous Vehicle Accidents
One of the biggest boons to nuTonomy’s program is the city of Boston’s active participation in it. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh worked alongside Mass. Governor Charlie Baker to clear the way for autonomous driving policies. Others in the local academic community are also highly eager to research and improve one of society’s most promising emerging technologies.
This enthusiasm does not mean that such programs won’t face barriers, though. Each participating company must fill out a stack of safety assessments as well as detailed reports of the exact nature of each trial run. Issues autonomous vehicles have encountered so far have also raised the concern of consumer advocacy groups, who want to ensure that companies are held accountable when their software leads to serious accidents — or even deaths.
Regulations and liability laws will have to be established in upcoming years as a result of accidents like these, helping injury victims get fair compensation when they are not the ones at-fault.
If you have any questions about corporate liability as it concerns autonomous vehicles, you can contact your nearest Boston car accident attorney, who can help explore emerging regulations and case law with you.
Contact Kiley Law Group today with any questions you have about Boston auto accidents, especially if you have been injured. You can use the simple form below to receive a free case review.
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