The road to fully autonomous vehicles is long and marred by technological challenges, from the cost of developing the technology and commercial expansion, all the way through public acceptance and safety concerns. And that’s if people even want to give up driving in the first place.
But there’s something that can help this transition, that can bridge the divide between the autonomous believers and self-driving sceptics: remote-controlled vehicles.
And no, we’re not talking about toy cars, these are real, adult-sized, remotely-driven automobiles. In this piece, I’m going to explain how they work, the commercial and technological implications, and if they can help ease us into an autonomous future.
What are remote-controlled cars?
Fundamentally, a remote-controlled car is a vehicle that can be operated by someone who’s not physically sitting inside it.
Remote control applications also exist in the industrial transport and logistics sector, with companies such as Fernride (Germany) and Einride (Sweden) exploring this.
An industry still in its infancy
But there are still unknowns given the infancy of remote-controlled carsharing. For example, Laansoo raised the challenge of remote operator fatigue. Currently, there’s not enough data to determine the optimal duration of a work shift, the best chair, screen size, and other infrastructure.
Then there’s recruitment — what makes a good remote driver? Laansoo suggests it could be anyone from a “60-year-old truck driver or a virtual rally driver.” But there are so many questions about liability, ensuring remote drivers aren’t distracted or inebriated that need to be ratified.
Furthermore, the remote nature of the work could cause conflict in local cities if providers take their operations offshore, so this needs to factor into licensing.
With regulations already in place, Estonia and Germany are poised to be the first countries to roll out the technology fully. Elmo is already discussing licensing its technology to other rideshare operators in Europe.
But if we see remote control cars as a stepping stone to full ridehailing vehicle automation, how exactly does one lead to the other? It’s not entirely clear. Will it be an autonomously operating vehicle that comes to you, which you then take over the wheel? Laansson questions the financial merit, suggesting “it only really makes sense in a taxi where the driver’s salary is 50% of all costs.”
Comparatively, von der Ohe sees his company’s product offering scaling up to increased automation, leveraging the data generated by fleets over time.
The fact remains that we are still Level 4 in terms of any commercial vehicle automation. Even Starship, with their small robot delivery fleets, still need remote safety drivers in the background, as do autonomous robovehicles on the roads today.
The reality is that autonomous vehicles are complex and expensive, and we need fewer cars on the roads. Furthermore, whatever exists needs to complement and coexist with public transport, micromobility, autocycles, and ebikes. And, in the future, eVTOLs and perhaps even hyperloops.
At some point, autonomous vehicles will arrive, but it’s still unclear when. But what remote-controlled vehicles can do is bridge this gap, getting people used to the idea of such vehicles, and ensuring they work smoothly alongside other forms of transport.
All we know for sure is that the future is one of human-machine collaboration — and we can’t wait to see if in action.