Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” is here. Automated technology is transforming the consumer products industry. Watches, appliances, cars, jet engines, drones and mobile medical devices are all part of the Internet-of-Things (IoT). The IoT refers to smart devices featuring embedded electronics, software, sensors and actuators that give them network connectivity, thereby enabling the IoT products to gather and leverage data. The IoT allows for data transfer over a network without human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction, and gives manufacturers information that drives improvements, such as reducing cost and risk.
Automated vehicles (AVs), also referred to as self-driving vehicles, exemplify the extent to which a device can be connected to its manufacturer. This expansive connectivity is also creating a more enduring relationship between the manufacturers and its users, as well as to the product itself, and should increasingly shift liability from the drivers or owners of a vehicle to the manufacturer. Despite this legal hurdle, AVs are certain to become a reality because of the many social and economic benefits that they promise to bestow—including an estimated 90% reduction in annual road fatalities. All major car manufacturers have AVs projects underway, and Volvo, in partnership with Uber, has launched a pilot fleet of AVs that have human drivers who can gain vehicular control if computer systems fail.
