自动驾驶汽车的优点

“If you recognize that self-driving cars are going to prevent car accidents, AI will be responsible for reducing one of the leading causes of death in the world.”

“如果您意识到自动驾驶汽车将预防车祸，那么人工智能将负责减少世界上主要的死亡原因之一。”

— Mark Zuckerberg

- 马克·扎克伯格

Self Driving Cars have become the central technology in humanity’s quest to build Artificial Intelligence. There have been many people who have strongly signified the benefits of this technology and there are people who have signified the risks. Regardless of these opinions, many companies such as Google, Apple, Tesla, and Uber have already been involved in this field and have multiple self-driving car prototypes. Although there are arguments over the specific year when self-driving cars will be released to the public, many experts agree that it will occur sometime this decade. In this article, I will explore the positives behind this incredible piece of technology. In a later article, I will explore the downsides and risks that are associated with this technology.

自驾车已成为人类寻求构建人工智能的核心技术。 有很多人强烈表明了这项技术的好处，也有人表明了这种风险。 无论这些意见如何，谷歌，苹果，特斯拉和优步等许多公司都已涉足这一领域，并拥有多个自动驾驶汽车原型。 尽管在特定年份将无人驾驶汽车向公众发布有争议，但许多专家都认为它将在本十年的某个时候发生。 在本文中，我将探讨这项令人难以置信的技术背后的积极之处。 在以后的文章中，我将探讨与该技术相关的弊端和风险。

Reduction of car accidents:

减少交通事故：

This is the most commonly known benefit of Self-Driving cars, and the biggest positive behind autonomous cars. In the US, over 36,120 people have died as a result of motor vehicle accidents in 2019, and the number is much higher globally (1.35 million). The most disturbing statistic of all is that 93–94% of those crashes are caused by some form of human error (NHTSA’s 2008 National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey). It is especially troubling when motor accidents constitute the 3rd largest cause of death in the US and the 8th largest cause of death in the world.

这是无人驾驶汽车最广为人知的好处，也是无人驾驶汽车最大的好处。 在美国，2019年机动车事故导致超过36,120人死亡，全球这一数字更高(135万)。 最令人不安的统计数据是，这些事故中有93–94％是由某种形式的人为错误引起的(NHTSA的2008年全国机动车事故因果调查)。 当交通事故在美国造成的第三大死亡原因，在全球造成的第八大死亡原因时，尤其令人不安。

Many studies conclude that a majority of these unfortunate deaths can be prevented by the implementation of self-driving cars. It is because autonomous cars would save a majority of lives that would have been lost as a result of motor accidents. As shown through the infographic that is presented below, about 79% of fatality causes (Drunk Driving, Speeding, and Distractions) can be easily solved by self-driving cars as those causes don’t apply to them. The only conditions that can’t be easily solved by self-driving cars at this juncture are bad weather and miscellaneous causes. However, most of those problems can also be partly solved within a few years of self-driving cars implementation on roads.

许多研究得出的结论是，通过实施自动驾驶汽车可以避免大多数不幸的死亡。 这是因为自动驾驶汽车将挽救因汽车事故而丧生的大部分生命。 如下面的信息图所示，自动驾驶汽车可以轻松解决大约79％的死亡原因(酒后驾驶，超速驾驶和分心)，因为这些原因并不适用于他们。 此时此刻，自动驾驶汽车无法轻松解决的唯一条件是恶劣的天气和其他原因。 但是，在道路上实施自动驾驶汽车的几年内，大多数这些问题也可以部分解决。

Decreased Traffic Congestion:

减少交通拥堵：

This benefit largely depends on what percent of cars on the road are self-driving cars, but even small percentages can have vastly positive effects. It is shown through multiple studies that traffic which spaces out about the length of 3–4 cars between each car will cause traffic to move smoothly, regardless of how many cars there are on the road. This is because cars don’t have to stop to allow cars from freeways, which is one of the major causes of traffic delays. However, we cannot trust human drivers to follow these guidelines, leading to unnecessary traffic delays that have a simple solution in theory.

这种收益在很大程度上取决于道路上有多少汽车是自动驾驶汽车，但是即使是很小的百分比也会产生巨大的积极影响。 通过多项研究表明，每辆车之间间隔约3-4辆车的长度的交通将导致交通平稳行驶，而不管道路上有多少辆车。 这是因为汽车不必停下来就可以让汽车驶离高速公路，这是交通延误的主要原因之一。 但是，我们不能相信人类驾驶员会遵循这些准则，从而导致不必要的交通延误，这在理论上是一种简单的解决方案。

Fortunately, this problem is one of the easiest problems for Self-Driving cars to solve once they are implemented. Self-Driving cars have been programmed to communicate with other autonomous cars. Through the use of the platooning algorithm, two or more self-driving cars in relative proximity to each other can communicate. Through proper communication, self-driving cars can precisely calculate the optimal stopping distance that is needed to keep the traffic flow as smooth as possible. In a study conducted by the Federal Highway Administration at Aberdeen Proving Ground, five Cadillacs with platooning capabilities and automated longitudinal control were evaluated for their communication and traffic flow. Aside from some minor issues, the research team found that the traffic flow was much smoother than human-driven cars in highways. Along with platooning, self-driving cars can also accurately predict the optimal stopping distance behind a human-driven car, which will also make traffic flow much smoother. This benefit gets more effective and notable when more cars on the road are self-driving.

幸运的是，这个问题是自驾车实施后最容易解决的问题之一。 无人驾驶汽车已被编程为与其他自动驾驶汽车通信。 通过使用排算法，两个或更多个彼此相对接近的自动驾驶汽车可以进行通信。 通过适当的通信，自动驾驶汽车可以精确地计算出最佳的停车距离，以保持交通顺畅。 在联邦公路管理局在阿伯丁试验场进行的一项研究中，评估了五辆具有排排能力和自动纵向控制能力的凯迪拉克的通讯和交通流量。 除了一些小问题外，研究小组还发现交通流量比高速公路上的人力车要顺畅得多。 除排长队外，自动驾驶汽车还可以准确预测人驾驶汽车后方的最佳停车距离，这也将使交通顺畅得多。 当道路上有更多的汽车自动驾驶时，这种好处将变得更加有效和显着。

More access to the elderly and the disabled:

使老年人和残疾人有更多机会：

This one might be one of the most overlooked benefits of self-driving cars. If cars are fully autonomous, it can allow people who are disabled or elderly to go anywhere in their vehicle instead of relying on others or public transportation to do the same. However, a major catch of this benefit is that autonomous cars should reach level 5 autonomy (complete autonomy) for the elderly and disabled to travel in their car. This is because, in any other level of autonomy, the human driver might have to take over in case something wrong happens with the system, which the elderly and disabled wouldn’t be able to do. However, in level 5 autonomy, the car is fully self-driving and the human driver doesn’t have to take over.

这可能是自动驾驶汽车最被忽视的好处之一。 如果汽车是完全自动驾驶的，则它可以使残疾人或老年人的车辆无处不在，而不必依靠他人或公共交通工具来这样做。 但是，这种好处的一个主要收获是，自动驾驶汽车应达到老年人和残疾人乘车旅行的5级自主权(完全自主权)。 这是因为，在任何其他级别的自治中，如果系统发生故障(老人和残疾人无法做到)，则驾驶员可能必须接管。 但是，在5级自动驾驶中，汽车是完全自动驾驶的，驾驶员无需接管。

The same technology could also allow people to rent self-driving taxis instead of buying their self-driving car or riding in a normal taxi. This would drastically reduce costs for many people and would allow people who can’t afford to buy self-driving cars an opportunity to travel to their destination without paying the high amounts that traditional taxis might charge. This benefit can become a reality to many people once self-driving cars reach a level where they are truly autonomous.

相同的技术还可以使人们租用自动驾驶出租车，而不用购买自动驾驶汽车或乘坐普通出租车。 这将大大降低许多人的成本，并使无力购买自动驾驶汽车的人有机会前往目的地，而无需支付传统出租车可能收取的高额费用。 一旦无人驾驶汽车达到真正的自动驾驶水平，对于许多人来说，这种好处就会变成现实。

As with every technology, there are pros and cons of self-driving cars. There are many companies and individuals who are working hard to maximize the benefits while minimizing the downsides. It is important for us to understand both the benefits and risks of a new emerging technology to make better decisions. I highly encourage everyone who read this article to explore more about self-driving cars. In a future article, I will address the downsides of self-driving cars in order to help everyone gain a better picture of this technology that would possibly alter the future of humanity.

与每种技术一样，自动驾驶汽车也有其利弊。 许多公司和个人都在努力使收益最大化，同时将不利影响最小化。 对我们而言，重要的是要了解新兴技术的利益和风险，以便做出更好的决策。 我强烈鼓励阅读本文的所有人探索有关自动驾驶汽车的更多信息。 在未来的文章中，我将探讨自动驾驶汽车的弊端，以帮助所有人更好地了解可能会改变人类未来的这项技术。