Back in 2012, the first self-driven cars took the roads by storm. Beginning as mere robotic experiments, these vehicles have blossomed into much more. These cars have the potential to start a technological revolution that could bring both pros and cons to the safety of people on the road.

This revolutionary advancement in technology is currently being led by the innovative educator Sebastian Thrun. A graduate of the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University, Thrun has taught at Stanford University, as well as attaining the prestigious title of Google Vice President. Specializing in robotics, amongst other things, he began this project after creating devices like Google Street View.

Various forms of sensors and software have contributed to the creation of these cars, which have traveled roughly over a million miles across parts of the United States, including Texas and California. In Austin, Texas, to be specific, many citizens were worried that testing would not occur, due to the fact that there are not any laws permitting the testing of self driven vehicles. Google was able to negotiate with Austin’s police chief, governor, and the Department of Transportation, in order to allow the cars to be tested legally. The tests in Austin require a test driver for the safety of the vehicle as well as others on the road.

Over the course of different experiments across the country, it has been confirmed that these self driven cars have been involved in 16 accidents, all of which were not the fault of the self-driving cars. Out of these 16 collisions, the cars involved in the Austin tests were accident free. It has been speculated that these cars could reduce accidents altogether. Although this could very well be the case, the reliability of these cars is in question. Machines malfunction on a daily basis. For example, how many times has your iPhone or computer malfunctioned? If a self driven car were to have a glitch, the life of the driver, along with the lives other drivers on the road, are at risk. Any machine can make an error, and this includes self-operated vehicles. Although this is a concern, the purpose of these cars is to reduce the amount of accidents. While some believe that this could have a positive effect on the reduction of vehicle collisions, others do not believe it is necessary to let an unreliable machine take over. Although many people differ in opinion on the effect the cars will have, we can all agree that this is a step forward in technological advancements concerning the future of our world.