Given the fact that both the Navy and the Air Force regularly fly pilotless airc

Question

Given the fact that both the Navy and the Air Force regularly fly pilotless aircraft for surveillance and combat missions, the idea of a driverless fork truck seems somewhat of a no-brainer. Why not pilotless cargo aircraft such as FedEx and UPS? Why not semi-trucks moving intercity without drivers? How would your answer differ if we had high-ways that were dedicated to truck-only traffic, either on an exclusive or time-allocated basis? Where do you think the concept of probotics will eventually end up?

Explanation / Answer

There are several reasons why we do not see driverless fork truck or pilotless cargo aircraft. However the key reasons behind them can be the following

Technology: The technology behind driverless truck or pilotless aircraft are still very new. This means that the use of this technology is extremely expensive. At some point it may even include national security concern. This is why the technology is not available openly to public and business organization cannot use them for their customers.

Safety: Pilotless aircraft for surveillance carries a certain risk. We need to remember that the workmanship of Navy and Air Force includes these risk. However, the regular day-to-day jobs, businesses and operations do not take such high risk. A pilotless aircraft’s crash could result in damage to property, lives and generate other concerns. With the new technology the risks are even higher and best avoided for mass/public consumption.

Regulations: Any new implementation of operation often requires government approval. Driverless cars right now are only at its prototype stage of development. However, before this becomes a common mode of transportation, the government approval may be required. The infrastructure needs to be available for such vehicles. These requires a lot of effort and preparation, which is not present at the moment.

If we had highways dedicated to truck-only traffic then the question still remains if the truck-only highways will allow only driverless trucks or the conventional trucks as well. The problem is if we mix them. Humans are prone to error and also capable of improvisation. Machines on the other hand usually follow strict directives. These two different approaches to driving could cause confusion and accidents. The only way to achieve driverless trucks are to make the truck-only highways exclusive to driverless trucks.

The concept of robotics and automations will keep improving. We may have, automated vehicles on the road in the next 20 years (in some countries). Similarly automation is set to revolutionize our home, roads, cars and how we do business today. For example, in future we could be living in a completely automated house, being driven to work by automated public/private transport and even travelling to other countries in a pilotless airplanes.

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