Adapting To Autonomy: Infrastructure And Legislation

The biggest challenge to realizing autonomous vehicles is not technology. It’s legislation, according to Loup Ventures managing partner Gene Munster.

He expects critical infrastructure issues to pressure legislators in the coming years.

“They’re going to have to make that jump to just reengineer not only the streets and the traffic patterns, things like that, but also just how our cities are built,” Munster said. “The need for parking lots diminishes, things like that, because of the efficiencies of the assets.”

Stoplights and intersections will be reengineered to better communicate with approaching vehicles, but some things will remain as they are. Cars with computer vision, sonar or lidar are presently equipped to maneuver existing roadways and side streets. Artificial intelligence will even allow adaptation to unusual infrastructure, such as police-regulated traffic stops, Munster said.

Navigation through existing routes will also improve as GPS maps are refined and more points of interest are recognized.

“Today those maps aren’t ready for that, because there’s going to be some deviations and you might get dropped off a block or two away from where you want,” Munster said. “But for the most part, we’re probably 95 percent of the way there in terms of the accuracy, or probably even better than that. In two years, I think we’re going to have those kinks worked out.”

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