Autonomous Vehicles: The World’s Most Complexed Technical Problem was the subject of a NIST Colloquium presentation given on January 18, 2024, by Dr. Paul Perrone, founder and CEO of Perlone Robotics, Inc. David Wollman, Ed Griffor, Tom Roth, and Prem Rachakonda, as well as Laurie Locascio, the NIST Director and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, Chuck Romaine, an associate director for laboratory programs, were all present when Perrone visited.
Based on Perrone’s extensive experience in the broad field of automation, his presentation argued that the development of autonomous vehicles ( AVs ) was the most challenging technical issue ever. A thorough list of AV complexities was covered by Perrone, including edge cases, machine learning, artificial intelligence ( AI), hardware and software adaptation, and expanding and evolving operational design domains. Along with improvements in AI use, increased standardization, and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, he also offered mitigations and a potential trajectory for successful AV development, including multiple time phases and well-defined control zones. A lively question-and-answer session on human factors, challenges, and considerations followed the presentation.