Wary or Enthusiastic? MIT Wants Your Views on Automated Driving Technologies
Like it or not, autonomous vehicles are coming in one form or another.
Many new cars on the market already have features that help a driver stay in the driving lane, keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front, or reduce the severity of a collision. Much like the original stability control, these features may frustrate enthusiasts but they help keep the masses safer and might reduce accidents.
Each year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the New England Motor Press Association hold a conference that focuses on various future trends and technologies. This year’s topic is The Intersection of Technology and Design, with a panel discussion exploring trends and challenges as autonomous technology meets the natural aesthetic appeal of the automobile.
To get a better understanding of how American motorists feel about autonomous driving, the MIT AgeLab is presenting a survey that asks pointed questions about their experience, interest, and knowledge of autonomous technologies. It is a very short survey, the results of which will be presented at the conference.
The survey was created by Bryan Reimer, Ph.D., a research scientist in the MIT AgeLab and Associate Director of the New England University Transportation Center at MIT. It not only asks about your comfort level with the technology but also about your trust in technology companies that thus far have had very little experience in the world of automobiles.
“The myth about automation is that as the level of human responsibility decreases so do the need for education,” says Reimer. “Given that we are rapidly increasing the level of automated vehicle technology it is an open question as to where people are going to learn how to appropriately use it.”
That is a legitimate concern. The survey is open from April 26 to May 15. The results will be presented on May 26 at the NEMPA/MIT Technology Conference, which I will attend.
[Images: Volvo Car Corporation, Ford Motor Company]
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The sad things is, given the leading nature of many of the questions, I can see them disregarding my responses as beng from an outlier. They'll take a look at my age and just decide I'm a cranky, old luddite who fears all technology and hates anything new. And they'd be completely wrong.
I tend to begrudgingly accept most new nanny technologies after experiencing them. In particular stability/yaw control, adaptive cruise control and city collision avoidance work too damn well to deny. Two exceptions include lane departure warnings, and traction control that cannot be quickly disengaged when you're immobilized in deep snow. More of a nuisance than anything.