The autonomously driving car will be everywhere in the near future. In the meantime, however, adjustments have to be made in many fields, such as legislation. As we speak, the complete automotive industry is working hard on developing a self-driving car, pouring millions of dollars and euros into the projects. All over the world experiments are conducted. Semi-autonomous taxis are already driving around in Singapore, while autonomous minibuses can be seen driving around Switzerland. Uber has an autonomous Ford driving in Pittsburgh, though an engineer and a driver are on board to check everything.

Our cars are already equipped with systems that make autonomous driving only the next small step. Think of adaptive cruise control, lane assist, collision avoidance, traffic sign recognition and so on.

The self-driving car communicates independently with other drivers and vehicles. This interaction will lead to fewer accidents occurring, fewer police checks being needed, etc., but will it also lead to other, new problems? Will there be a smaller or bigger feeling of safety? How about the cost for the community? The self-driving will not commit traffic offences, so state income from traffic fines will dwindle and alternative sources of income will have to be found.

There are other advantages. The self-driving car monitors the passengers, so if one of them falls ill, the car can call an ambulance or bring the passenger to the nearest hospital, while already informing the hospital staff of the health problem.

Will the self-driving car become part of our society? The developments are unstoppable and we will have to wait and see at which point in time this will be the case.

Technology enabling the communication in the self-driving car sets challenges for the electronic interconnect industry in the automotive sector. PIEK is closely monitoring the developments and incorporates them in its courses. This means that your employees taking IPC certification or re-certification courses with PIEK are always up-to-date.

If you want to know more about PIEK’s services, please contact Wendy Wings of the customer care centre on + 31 45 570 33 33. Alternatively, you can go to our website https://piektraining.com/.