Litigation
Cal. Litig. 2017, Volume 30, Number 1
Content
- A Review of Catherine L. Fisk's Writing for Hire: Unions, Hollywood and Madison Avenue
- Editor's Foreword Ch-ch-changes
- From the Section Chair Preparing for Transformation
- Identifying and Avoiding the Unauthorized Practice of Law in a Global Economy
- Joint Laws Transforming California
- Litigation Section Executive Committee Past Chairs
- Masthead
- My First Appellate Argument
- No, 42 is Not the Answer!
- Past Editors-in-Chief
- Table of Contents
- The Opening Statement For the Defense
- Trial Lawyer Hall of Famer Ephraim Margolin: An edited version of an interview
- Robot Vehicles and the Real World
Robot Vehicles and the Real World
By Raymond Paul Johnson
Think back. Remember the science fiction movies where robots rebelled and took control of the world? Well rest easy, we’re not there yet. But robot cars, on the other hand, are an integral part of our here and now.
Google, for example, has been testing podlike prototypes on open roads for almost two million miles. Ford, Renault-Nissan, Volvo, Tesla, Mercedes, VW-Audi, and GM are all in the fray to be first and best. Apple is rumored to have an iCar in its think tank, and Uber and Carnegie Mellon University recently partnered to open a robotic research center. Some work is complete; other work is in progress, but the central questions remain: How and when will driverless vehicles integrate safely into the real world?
This article covers the short history of autonomous vehicles; recent technology advances; pending, proposed and existing legislation; the effects of self-driving cars on worldwide industries; and real-world safety and liability issues, such as hacking vulnerabilities, winter driving, urban traffic challenges, and vehicles programmed to kill their occupants.