WASHINGTON/DETROIT — United States vehicle safety regulators have
said the artificial intelligence system piloting a self-driving
Google car (prototype pictured) could be considered the driver
under the country’s federal law, a major step towards ultimately
winning approval for autonomous vehicles on the roads.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Google, a
unit of Alphabet Inc, of its decision in a previously unreported
Feb 4 letter to the company posted on the agency’s website this
week.
Google’s self-driving car unit on Nov 12 submitted a proposed
design for a self-driving car that has “no need for a human
driver”, the letter to Google from National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration chief counsel Paul Hemmersbaugh said.
“NHTSA will interpret ‘driver’ in the context of Google’s described
motor vehicle design as referring to the (self-driving system), and
not to any of the vehicle occupants,” said NHTSA’s letter. “We
agree with Google its (self-driving car) will not have a ‘driver’
in the traditional sense that vehicles have had drivers during the
last more than 100 years.”
Major automakers and technology companies such as Google are racing
to develop and sell vehicles that can drive themselves at least
part of the time.
All participants in the autonomous driving race complain that state
and federal safety rules are impeding testing and eventual
deployment of such vehicles. California has proposed draft rules
requiring steering wheels and a licensed driver in all self-driving
cars.
Mr Karl Brauer, senior analyst for the Kelley Blue Book automotive
research firm, said there were still significant legal questions
surrounding autonomous vehicles.
But if “NHTSA is prepared to name artificial intelligence as a
viable alternative to human-controlled vehicles, it could
substantially streamline the process of putting autonomous vehicles
on the road”, he said.
If the car’s computer is the driver for legal purposes, then it
clears the way for Google or automakers to design vehicle systems
that communicate directly with the vehicle’s artificial pilot.
In its response to Google, the federal agency offered its most
comprehensive map yet of the legal obstacles to putting fully
autonomous vehicles on the road. It noted existing regulations
requiring some auto safety equipment cannot be waived immediately,
including requirements for braking systems activated by foot
control.
“The next question is whether and how Google could certify that the
(self-driving system) meets a standard developed and designed to
apply to a vehicle with a human driver,” said NHTSA.
Google is “still evaluating” NHTSA’s lengthy response, said a
company spokesperson on Tuesday. Google executives have said they
would likely partner with established automakers to build
self-driving cars.
Google told NHTSA the real danger is having auto safety features
that could tempt humans to take control.
Google “expresses concern that providing human occupants of the
vehicle with mechanisms to control things like steering,
acceleration, braking ... could be detrimental to safety because
the human occupants could attempt to override the (self-driving
system’s) decisions”, stated the NHTSA letter.
NHTSA’s Mr Hemmersbaugh said federal regulations requiring
equipment such as steering wheels and brake pedals would have to be
formally rewritten before Google could offer cars without those
features.
For example, current federal rules require alerts on dashboards if
tyre pressure runs low. NHTSA said a test would need to be created
that shows the vehicle computer is informed of the problem.
Last month, NHTSA said it may waive some vehicle safety rules to
allow more driverless cars to operate on US roads as part of a
broader effort to speed up development of self-driving
vehicles.
NHTSA said then it would write guidelines for self-driving cars
within six months. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the
administration may seek new legal authority to allow deployment of
autonomous vehicles “in large numbers”, when they are deemed safe,
said the department.
The process of rewriting federal regulations governing the design,
placement and operation of vehicle controls could take months or
years. The NHTSA counsel said Google could consider applying for
exemptions for certain regulations. REUTERS
Source: TodayOnline
