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Nate Lanxon / Canon 5D MkIII

"The thought of self-driving cars are scary to some, but they're actually quite incredible," announces Brad Templeton as he takes to the stage at Wired 2013.


Templeton, chair of Computing & Networks at Singularity University and advisor to Google's team of engineers and innovators currently developing self-driving cars, explains how we have become "blind to the numbers" of our current modes of transportation. "Humans are pretty bad drivers," Templeton said. "1.2 million people die of car accidents every year; 33,000 from the US and 1,800 in the UK. We spend $230 billion (£142 billion) a year on accident costs, which is about 2.5 percent of the US GDP."

Templeton goes on to outline how human error can be almost entirely eliminated if self-driving cars were introduced, explaining that 40 percent of accidents occur due to drink driving and 93 percent from inattentiveness. "Not only would accidents be greatly reduced, but the 60 percent of land we have lost to parking lots and driveways will suddenly become available to us again." We won't need parking lots according to Templeton because the cars can park on the roads, in small spaces and can be constantly on the move.

Significantly, the more computerised cars become, the greater the inevitability of Moore's Law. "If Moore's Law was applied to transportation as it has been advancing until now, then we would expect to see vast improvements in the auto industry every couple of centuries." However, with cars modelled around computer technology, leaps in innovation every two years would no longer be considered unlikely. "People say you can't replace all the cars in 40 or 50 years, but look at the phones -- we replace and improve those every few months."

Templeton stated that many of the technologies people believe to be "futuristic" or unattainable have been implemented in cars that vast numbers of drivers are already using today. "You can actually buy this tech. Self parking, lane keeping, little alerts that beep at you if you're about to hit someone.

These are all in cars by manufacturers like Audi, Nissan, Tesla and Mercedes. Suddenly a self-driving car doesn't sound too unachievable."


A video from Google demonstrated how the cars can handle difficult manoeuvres such as merging lanes on busy motorways, precision parking and pedestrian avoidance, thanks to a laser and radar guidance system that work in conjunction with each other. The video concluded revealing that the man behind the wheel of the car was blind.

Templeton closed his speech stressing how self-driving cars will be important not only for those who wish to live faster, greener and less damaging lives, but also for those who are disabled or infirm. This means that, for some sections of society, self-driving cars will provide a new mobility and independence that they have become accustomed to giving up.

Read more from Wired 2013's incredible spread speakers, thinkers, innovators and thought-leaders in our Wired 2013 hub.