A self-driving car is a self-explanatory term that describes a car that drives for itself; in other words, it doesn't need a driver to drive; a couple of decades back, this term would be considered absurd, and people won't believe that it actually can happen, but now it's just round the clock that world will get their self-driving vehicle sooner than ever.

After the commercial availability of self-driving vehicles on the road, you only need to tell your car about the destination or mention it via a message and leave the rest to the car; you can do your stuff while your car can take you to your destination hassle-free.

But how it all happened, well Alphabet (Google's parent company) started the project of self-driving cars back in 2009 and tested the first 10 miles uninterrupted on a 100-mile route. However, things revved when Alphabet acquired an autonomous driving technology company and renamed its self-driving project Waymo.

How Self-driving Works

The self-driving mechanism works by combining different car sensors that act like the car's eyes and ears; these sensors are comprised of different systems that work harmoniously to produce the desired results. These systems include front-crash prevention, blind spot detection, lane departure, and crash prevention systems.

Collectively they are categorized as advanced driver assistance technology or autonomous driving; with the advancements, these systems evolved, enabling vehicles to Self Park, analyze the parking space, and the steering automatically while accelerating and braking simultaneously.

In 2021, self-driving cars will be introduced in San Francisco; However, the technology is limited to some cars. Finally, they can navigate their destination by using their autonomous driving system, which automatically steers, brake, anticipate a collision, keep the car in the lane, and park in the empty spot after reaching its destination.

The Waymo car system relies on high-resolution cameras and lidar (light detection and ranging). It senses the distance and objects coming its way by bouncing back sound and light, which helps the car identify objects like cars, pedestrians, obstacles, and road signs.

Changes brought by Google Self-Driving Cars

Google's self-driving cars will change the auto industry landscape; if the key players don't take this technological revolution seriously and act promptly, they will lose the market share. Advanced systems in place drastically change the ratio of road accident; the autonomous system detects a collision way before it happens and apply the brakes, which implies that insurance companies also have to reevaluate their policies, as low accidents mean fewer cars to repair and vice versa, other changes include:

Manufacturing Shift

After self-driving cars commercialize, one can see a surge in their salespeople will buy them due to the efficiency and ease they provide with their daily commute. Still, once enough self-driving cars are in the market, sales will drop drastically.

The reason behind with lowest sales is due to the rider-sharing features; people will prefer ride-sharing, and the household with a couple of cars today will then reduce to one or two cars, as one self-driving car is enough to do all the commute.

Changes in Infrastructure:

The infrastructure transformation will begin once self-driving cars become a mainstream mode of transportation; today, almost one-third of the US cities are covered by parking spaces, and with fewer cars, on the road, the need for this parking space is out of the question.

It brings us to the second phase of transformation, where a lot of space is available in cities, and it decreases the real estate value as much as the supply is in surplus. Besides real estate, cities have greener areas, and these green areas will also bring a positive environmental impact.

Change in Oil Consumptions:

The demand for oil and its related products will change drastically; coil consumption will fall acutely, implying that companies in extracting, marketing, and refining oil must reevaluate their strategies.

As per the market experts and CEO of ride-sharing services, self-driving vehicles will consume 20% less energy and have high eco-driving capabilities; similarly, these cars also increase the miles traveled by a vehicle; people will share these vehicles in their free time to use by other, which increases the mile traveled but as the same time reduces the number of vehicle of the road as one car is enough for a pool of people.

The decline in Accidents and Insurance Premiums

Google self-driving cars will be safer as machines don't get high or drunk, Overspeed, and take unnecessary risks like humans often do. According to recent studies, 9% of accidents happen due to human error, and it is expected that self-driving cars will reduce this ratio which also impacts insurance costs, which are expected to fall dramatically.

Some industry experts also speculated that mandatory insurance could be dropped due to autonomous cars; however, speculations regarding creditors that lend buyers for sale purchase of cars are still high.

Commercial Aspects:

Self-driving cars will substantially impact taxi and ride-hailing services and have the potential to create new ones; as per a study conducted in 2018, self-driving cars in Manhattan cost $0.29 to $0.63 per mile compared to at least $5 per mile for cars driven by humans.

Self-driving cars are successfully deployed in closed systems such as air terminals, campuses, and mining facilities, making them accessible more efficiently. Besides self-driving vehicles, this system is also introduced in transport vehicles like trucks; even a Swedish truck company has deployed self-driving trucks to deliver products along the E4 highway.

Final Thoughts:

Google Self-driving cars will change everything, from cars' presence on roads to a decrease in accidents; they will transform every aspect that is somehow related to cars. Lesser cars on roads with higher per-mile averages consume less oil, encourage ride-sharing, and decrease the real estate value as large parking spaces are transformable into green areas or utilized for other purposes. It also decreases the number of road accidents drastically and also impacts insurance premiums.