I’m still dubious that Apple will ever release a full-fledged automobile. But, for fun, let’s assume it will. At some point an “Apple Car may not only lack a driver behind the wheel, but also come without a steering wheel, gas or break pedals, a horn and review mirrors.

Way back in In 2014 IEEE, a technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, unveiled the findings of a survey that revealed expert opinions about the future of driverless cars, such as speed bumps to mass adoption, essential autonomous technologies, features in the car of the future, and geographic adoption. More than 200 researchers, academicians, practitioners, university students, society members and government agencies in the field of autonomous vehicles, participated in the survey.
When survey respondents were asked to assign a ranking to six possible roadblocks to the mass adoption of driverless cars, legal liability, policymakers, and consumer acceptance were ranked as the biggest obstacles, while cost, infrastructure, and technology were viewed as the smaller speed bumps.  

"Anytime you have a technology that has the potential to fundamentally change our daily lives, laws and policies need to be established to ensure the technology is going to be used properly and benefit humanity. This is especially true with intelligent vehicles," said Yaobin Chen, IEEE senior member and professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue School of Engineering and Technology. "Once the foundational elements, like legal liability and policy, are in place, the technology and infrastructure will be there, so intelligent vehicles will become more widely accepted."

As more autonomous features are being incorporated into cars, it will enable them to be manufactured without some of the equipment that's commonplace today, according to IEEE. When asked to specify the year in which specific equipment will be removed from mass-produced cars, the majority of respondents believe rearview mirrors, horns, and emergency brakes will be removed by 2030 and steering wheels, and gas/brake pedals will follow by 2035. In addition, more than 75% of respondents also indicated that all 50 U.S. states would pass legislation permitting use of driverless vehicles within this time period.

"We've seen incredible growth in the driverless vehicle industry over the past few years, both in technological advancement and manufacturer acceptance, that has dramatically affected the consumer adoption timetable," said IEEE Fellow Alberto Broggi, professor of computer engineering at the University of Parma in Italy and founder of VisLab, five years ago. "The scientific community and car manufacturers have been working together to incrementally include autonomous features in modern day cars, with the intention of producing driverless vehicles in the near future. For mass adoption, it's important that we begin trusting this technology."

Advancements in technology will be the most instrumental in the continued development of driverless vehicles, with more than half (56%) of respondents believing that sensor technology is most essential, followed by software (48%), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (47%) and GPS (31%).  

Images accompanying this article are courtesy of “Barrons,” “Report Globe,” and “PC Mag.”