Software key to self-driving cars of future, says Silicon Valley guru

Silicon Valley guru Brad Templeton believes the key component in self-driving cars of the future will be the software.

This marriage between computers and automobiles will revolutionize transportation, said the specialist in self-driving cars, robotics and virtual reality during Campus Party Mexico 2016, a five-day technology fair taking place until Sunday in Guadajalara, the capital of Mexico's western Jalisco state.

"Feel the Future" is the theme of this year's fair, and Templeton's talk illustrated what the future of mobility might look like when self-driving "robocars," as he calls them, become the norm.

"The computer is going to be what drives automobile innovation, not the engine, not the leather seats," Templeton told the audience.

The big challenge is to make self-driving cars as safe as possible under all conditions, said Templeton, who is also the director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which works to defend digital rights.

But the simple fact that these cars take the human element out of driving makes them safer, he said.

Some "40 percent of accidents with fatalities involve alcohol, and robots very rarely drink," he said.

These vehicles are also equipped with capabilities beyond human capacity, such as 360-degree vision and sensory radar.

To those not in the field, self-driving cars still seem to be in the early experimental stage, but the software architect believes they could become viable, if not prevalent, in less than 15 years.

While Google is the acknowledged leader in the field, with its self-driving car often making headlines, almost every car manufacturer in the world is working to develop its own version, said Templeton.

Volvo has even announced that as early as next year, it will have 100 self-driving cars available to customers living in Goteborg, Sweden, where the company is headquartered, and another 100 each in London and a city in China, said Templeton.

"The Chinese are getting into the game as well," he said, noting Baidu, China's answer to Google, "has said they'll be having trials of their (self-driving) car in 2018."

In addition to polluting less, making transportation safer, and bringing life-changing independence to the elderly and people with visual impairment or other disability, self-driving cars may have larger global implications, said Templeton.

"Have any of you noticed that the Americans have a really annoying habit of going to war over the oil that they import?" asked Templeton. "Isn't it amazing to think that some software might break that habit and have these geopolitical consequences?"

The annual fair brings together young Mexican students and entrepreneurs in different technological fields to promote innovation and creativity. Enditem