We're not going to get to Level 5 autonomy anytime soon for a whole host of reasons. That's why it's interesting to see a new idea about self-driving cars.
Car manufacturers have carefully studied the pain points for drivers and, I'm guessing by using Jobs To Be Done Theory, have set out to solve an exponentially simpler problem that point-to-point or start-to-finish autonomous travel. They're concentrating on highway driving only, in what they call on-ramp to off-ramp. The basic premise is to allow the car to take control as it gets on to the highway and relinquish the same as you move off the highway.
As a majority of distance and time spent driving in the US involves highway driving, this is an opportunity to reduce friction for drivers without overly complicating the technology required to achieve the goal.
Autonomous driving will not happen overnight, it’ll take a generation or two to fully get used to the prospect of cars deciding what they do on a road, and this is a very good way to help,take part on that change management.
9 November 2019 — French West Indies