Driverless vehicles bring an immeasurable amount of potential to drastically reconstructing not only how cities are designed

Driverless vehicles bring an immeasurable amount of potential to drastically reconstructing not only how cities are designed, but the dynamics of transportation. Much like any other revolutionary technology, autonomous vehicles come with unplanned societal impacts. Some are good and some are bad. A majority of these impacts fall somewhere in between, creating a combination of both positive and negative consequences. For example, if we look at self-driving cars from an economic standpoint, there will be no longer be a need for auto parts stores, gas stations, local mechanics or car dealers. Cities that have been built around major roadways will have to be reorganized or will eventually vanish. On the other hand, if we view the impact from a social standpoint, people will have more time, whether they skipped breakfast and need to eat on the go or if they need to respond to e-mails and simultaneously consume more information by either reading a book or doing research over the internet. The use of commuting autonomously will create the availability to perform other tasks and perhaps increase productivity. Over the last decade, considerable progress has been made in automated driving systems. While the continuation of technologies and capabilities evolve toward making autonomous vehicles a reality, the expansion of driving assistance technologies devised from the self-driving cars are being utilized in traditional cars. It can be predicted that the realization of self-driving car will gradually advance from assistance driving to total self-driving. Within the next ten years, a variety of automated driving products will become commercially available due to the progress and expected advancements currently being publicized. It is projected that automated driving technology will lead to a major shift in transportation systems, mostly in consumer experience, model choices, and industry models. This phenomenon is exemplified by the 2005 DARPA Challenge, followed by increased efforts from a slew of industrial companies and Google. Once these companies started experimenting their self-driving cars on public streets, it in turn stimulated even greater investments by a large amount of competitive automotive manufacturers. As self-driving cars mature, they will have a great impact socially and economically.