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Transformation occurs to an industry in many ways which brings the industry forward to new levels for a better society and continuous evolution of mankind. This report is intended to throw light on the way Automotive industry is about to transform itself into a Mobility industry which integrates the green autonomous cars across the world with each other and with infrastructure like roads, tolls, signals and etc.

A Significant Shift in the Industry: Over a century of innovations in horsepower, safety, and rider amenities have helped automobile sales grow by an average annual rate of 3% since 1964. This is roughly double the rate of global population growth over the same period and makes for a planet with over 1 bn vehicles on its roads. The products from the industry are evolved over a long period of time from a simple mode of transport to basic need and symbol of luxury. But the industry is now seeing a change which is unprecedented and changes are occurring at the basic principles and the way we look at the motor vehicles as such.

Motor vehicles (referred to be “cars” henceforth) are influenced by the technology like any other industry and its effecting the fundamentals now.

The 3 dimensions of change:

Autonomous Technology: People have become tech savvy, more tend towards the comfort and hassle-free life. This led to a new principle that vehicles should drive themselves without human intervention and hence autonomous vehicles. Companies are pouring billions of dollars of investment into development of autonomous technology. Companies are partnering with the tech companies whose core competence is in development of hardware or software for advanced technology. Nearly all the major tech companies and auto companies have formed alliances, partnerships, joint ventures and so on to indulge themselves in the race against other companies to achieve fully autonomous technology in cars at earliest. These cars could decrease fatalities, road congestions and improve productive time for humans.

Zero Emission vehicles: Due to an enormous pressure on the industry to curb various types of pollution and make cleaner vehicles, companies are investing very heavily to development advanced engine technologies. There is always a demand for the higher fuel efficiency particularly in emerging markets which can reduce the cost per mile driven. Companies started developing alternate fuel technologies which can revolutionize the engine efficiency and emissions. Technologies include batteries, fuel cells, bio fuels and etc. Zero emission vehicles could revolutionize the industry in many ways like lesser number of components required in car, partnerships with battery technology companies, low R&D required to fight emission and noise level tests and significantly increased mileage implying lower cost per mile driven.

Changes in ownership: Along with the above dimensions of change in the industry, companies are now focusing on the entry into ride sharing business which could offer lot of perks. Advantages for customers are like low cost per mile for the riders, high availability of On-demand vehicles, low ownership and maintenance costs, revenue source by sharing own car with other commuters and etc. Companies now started acquiring stakes in the smaller ride sharing companies to tap on the advantages like leasing vehicles to the drivers, acquiring data on the traffic to be used in R&D, understanding consumer preferences and etc. This dimension could change the face of the industry in many ways like high intangibles in the form of mobile and computer applications for on demand services, integration of autonomous technology with the ride sharing business, change in revenue drivers to “Miles Sold” from “Cars Sold”.

The above factors together could create new opportunities to the companies like deploying green autonomous vehicles in ride sharing business which could provide sustainable returns to the companies, negligible damage to the environment hence lesser legal battles, optimal utilization of the resources and greater comfort for the riders with low cost. Each could even create threat to companies which could not position themselves optimally in this drift. Example: Inability to develop autonomous technology as it requires matching skills, right partner, heavy outlay of R&D and heavy testing. We elaborated on each of the above factors in terms of the reasons for such change, about the corresponding technology, impact on the financials in subsequently.

A smart car could drive itself from a point to another upon the human’s commands without his intervention by selecting the best course of action possible without causing any harm to infra/other cars/humans.

Connectivity with the humans through mobile/computer makes cars more accessible and create seamless communication detailing on vehicle data, GPS, traffic data, entertainment and etc. In this report we would not emphasize on Connectivity aspect much as the effects of this are not significant on industry except when specifically highlighted.

Advantages: 1.	No more driving hassles 2.	Remote operation of vehicle 3.	Easy diagnosis of vehicle’s health 4.	Best route possible saving time and other valuable resources 5.	Less traffic congestion and fatalities

Factors driving industry towards Autonomous cars: There are variety of factors which are driving the industry towards the Autonomous cars due to which all the companies are racing towards a single goal, Self-Driving car. But the major driving forces for the industry pushing towards the Autonomous cars are,

Demand for Safety: In a current generation where most of the roads are not equipped with the ability to handle high speed cars and high distraction quotient during driving, there is a steep incline in the causalities of motor accidents in recent times. In US alone, The National Safety Council estimates 38,300 people were killed and 4.4 mn injured on U.S. roads in 2015, which saw the largest one-year percentage increase in half a century. According to WHO, during 2015, there were 1,250,000 fatalities worldwide which is quite significant. Driverless cars equipped with V2V and V2I communication could bring more safety to passengers and pedestrians as the scope of error and traffic violation during driving could be brought down dramatically.

Changing consumer interests: Humans tend to be more and more tech savvy in the current generation. There is an increasing demand towards fancy technologies which can provide more comfort and convenience. Self-driving cars are one of such technologies and could create very good potential in the market to capitalize for the companies. Conveniences include Auto park, Summoning of car, Integration with garages, Auto pilot and etc.

Commercial Factors: Driverless trucks could help in cost cutting by reducing the costs like driver salaries, causalities, time lags, low fuel efficiency etc.

Tesla is at L-3 whose technology can drive the car at certain conditions like follow on car, self-parking and summon. Uber Ford Fusion and Google Car are at L-4. Tesla is planning to roll out the L-5 cars as soon as 2018 after intensified testing the cars at L-4 over the next few years.

For attaining L-5 level, there are various unique factors which comes into action. Those factors will be discussed later in this document

Technology used in Autonomy: There are various technologies each company is working on to attain the L-5 status. Most famous and major technology used in the Autonomous vehicles is the LIDAR (Light detection and Ranging). LIDAR consists of a cone or puck-shaped device that projects lasers which bounce off objects to create a high-resolution map of the environment in real time. In addition to helping driverless cars to “see”, Lidar is used to create fast, accurate 3D scans of landscapes, buildings, cultural heritage sites and foliage. Tesla doesn’t use the LIDAR system and relies heavily on the sensor unit and radars around the vehicle which estimates the objects around it and take necessary action.

Important issues in L-5 development 1. Ethical issues: Straight with an example to understand this in a better way, “A self-driving car carrying a family of four on a rural two-lane highway spots a bouncing ball ahead. As the vehicle approaches a child runs out to retrieve the ball. Should the car risk its passengers’ lives by swerving to the side—where the edge of the road meets a steep cliff? Or should the car continue on its path, ensuring its passengers’ safety at the child’s expense?” This scenario and many other scenarios pose moral and ethical dilemmas that carmakers, car buyers and regulators must address before vehicles should be given full autonomy.

2. V2V Communication: For the objectives like safety to be achieved by the technology, there should be an effective V2V communication. Wherein the cars could communicate each other to prevent accidents.

3. V2I Communication: Traffic congestion could be avoided if there is an effective V2I communication wherein the vehicles could get real time information on the road conditions, traffic levels and etc.

4. Legal compliance: Legal compliance is another area where the manufacturers could face challenges as there is no clear demarcation on the responsibility in case of an accident during a driverless ride. Recently US has come up with the guidelines on the technology development for autonomous cars but there is no guidance on this issue. Road Ahead: Manufacturers are now currently working on the L-5 attainment and targeting 2020 for the fleet to be introduced to ride hailing services and then by 2025 commercially produce vehicles for individuals.