2019-02-01_Popular_Science

TALES FROM THE FIELD

as told to Rob Verger / illustrations by Tara Jacoby

HOW IT WORKS

riding in cars

JOE VANOFLEN,OPERATIONS LEAD AT DRIVE.AI

We spend so much of our lives

commuting, but with self- driving

cars, we could fill that time in

unlimited ways. You might finish

up work, put on a movie, or—if the car win-

dows are digital displays—enjoy a virtual-

reality tour of the French countryside.

But before we hand over the keys, we

need to test the tech. In June 2018, I

started as a “safety driver” at autonomous

car company Drive.ai, riding behind the

wheel of our passenger shuttles in Frisco,

Texas. After driving the vehicle out into the

field, I would press a button to engage

autonomy. In the event I needed to take

over, I didn’t want to waste a second get-

ting to the controls, so I would keep a hand

on the steering wheel and hover a foot over

the pedals, mimicking manual driving. They

moved just as they would if I were using

them—first-time passengers would peek

up at me to see if I was touching anything.

Riders also expressed surprise at how

cautious the AI is. In fact, the most com-

mon reason I’d have to take over was when

other human drivers became impatient—

for example, while they waited for the

self-driving vehicle to slowly cross multiple

lanes of traffic at rush hour. In these in-

stances, we will disengage autonomy and

go into human mode as a courtesy to the

other drivers on the road.

People climb into the shuttle with all

kinds of wild expectations, but after their

first ride—or sometimes even halfway

through—they realize it’s really just another

bus ride. Then they usually go back to their

activities. In most cases, that means they

get buried in their cellphones.

MADE IN USA

FloorLiner™ TechShade® Seat Protector

Ever

yday

Pro

tecti

on

for^ you

r^ vehicl

e!

See these products and much more at

.com

© 2018 by MacNeil IP LLC