IBM Study: No Self-Driving Cars In The Next Decade

IBM’s results from a recent automotive study found that car maker executives believe that self-driving cars will not be commonplace by the year 2025.

IBM’s study, released at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit, instead found that the execs think smart cars that are personalised for drivers will be the norm.

IBM Automotive 2025 Global Study

The IBM Automotive 2025 Global Study interviewed 175 executives from vehicle OEMs and suppliers in 21 countries, quizzing them on customer expectations and future strategies.

IBM said that by 2025, the vehicle will be sophisticated enough to configure itself to a driver and other occupants. Also, it will be able to learn, heal, drive and socialise with other vehicles and its surrounding environment.  Nearly 80% of the executives felt in-vehicle cognitive technologies will be a key component of how vehicles learn and reason to provide a better experience for the occupants and optimise its own performance.

Fifty-seven percent believe vehicle “social networks” would be in place where vehicles would communicate with each other, allowing vehicles to share not only traffic or weather conditions, but information specific to a given automaker. For instance, if a vehicle was experiencing some type of problem not recognised before, it could communicate with other vehicles of the same brand to seek help on what the issue might be.

But the report also underscores a ‘considerable skepticism’ about fully autonomous vehicles. Only 8 percent of executives see it becoming commonplace by 2025. Only 19 percent believe that a fully automated environment—meaning the driving system handles all situations without monitoring, and the driver is allowed to perform non-driving tasks—will be routine by 2025.

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