Driverless Cars Research Paper

Driverless vehicles, otherwise known as autonomous, automated or driverless cars, are no longer science fiction. The technology is here, and several companies are already testing them on the roads. A Total of forty-four corporations are working on autonomous vehicles, ranging from automotive industry stalwarts to leading technology brands and telecommunications companies. In this venture, Tesla Motors and Alphabet seem to be leading the way in the automotive industry with their recent releases of partially-autonomous vehicles. Despite early setbacks including the accidental death of Josh Brown, a forty year old Hollywood star, who was using the autopilot system in the Tesla Model when he crashed the vehicle, or Uber briefly suspending its own program after a self-driving car crashed in Tempe, Arizona, and the public’s outcry on the reliability of driverless cars, private companies working in auto tech are attracting record

levels of deals and funding, with autonomous driving startups leading the charge.
Driverless cars could yield numerous conceivably positive results, even to companies that are new to the technology that they deploying.

Notwithstanding, taking advantage of this type of technology could cause disruptive innovation to the predominantly gasoline driven auto industry. Disruptive innovation was predicted when battery operated vehicles were introduced, but it never materialized. Introducing driverless car technologies could change the way that the auto industry business operates at its basic level. For example, the new product introduction would mean more expensive materials, facilities layout, and varying degrees of technical skills and training from the employer and employees.

Considering the costs associated with manufacturing driverless cars, in addition to the technology itself, could be worrisome from shareholder’s point of view since return on the investment is not guaranteed. Possibly, automation in manufacturing may become a source that is being advanced by those in favor of driverless cars as

well.
Nonetheless, any decision to obtain the technology whether it would be used or not, could create division among those in support and those opposed on the basis that it could harm current bottom line from existing line of products, meaning gasoline based products. As we learned from reviewing the article on “Creative Destruction,” ignoring new technologies, or innovations, could result in the immobility of the company to make effective decisions. Those against the technology could maintain a conviction that distrusts any of the possible changes the company would have to make to implement the new technology. For example, to introduce a driverless car could require dismantling an entire product line in order to build “pilot” cars. It has obvious risks as “cultural lock-ins” stops companies from trying new things altogether, leading to less informative control processes.