HOW SATISFYING...?

Africa and Autonomous vehicles

The future is here already, and it could be more seamless.

Imagine a long, hectic day at work. Ready to go home, your car finds its way to you instead. It drives through the traffic and checkpoints, all the way safely to your destination.

How satisfying is that? Well, I have reservations...

Sensor technologies are advancing, and the future of autonomous vehicles keeps looking brighter. Even with the advent of LiDAR sensors (light detection and ranging)  and 4D imaging, self-driving could be way more satisfying.

However, especially in Africa, the future of autonomous vehicles still looks gloomy.

Unless the challenges posed by the advent of these auto drivers are properly reviewed by hosting countries, they could disrupt the "normalcy" of events in their transportation industry or even the affairs of the country.

The autonomous car market is growing astronomically! This means more demand for lightweight materials, more technological advancement in manufacturing and supply chains, improvements in data networks, and the development of advanced infrastructure. It means more!

But I'm concerned. How satisfying can these Auto drivers be? Everyone seems obsessed with their possible reformations and transformation abilities. What if they're not meant for everyone? What if they're not meant for every country? Here are some concerns.

REVENUE

Undoubtedly, with the current incoherent situation of road networks and navigation help in most African countries, the advent of autonomous vehicles would demand more advanced infrastructure to accommodate them.

A country like Namibia, which has the best road networks, would still have to make some major improvements. Now talk less of countries like Rwanda, Guinea, Burundi, Madagascar, Gambia, Ghana, Cameroon, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, and of course, Nigeria, which, in no particular order, have the worst road networks.

Also, oil-dependent countries like Nigeria and LEAA countries (Algeria, Angola, Libya, and Egypt) would have to contend with a slash in their revenue.

Other imminent problems include expansion in the economic inequality gap, job displacements, and regulatory challenges like legal and insurance policies, among others. That is a whole lot to take in. Maybe autonomous vehicles are not for Africa?

DATA NETWORKS AND SECURITY.

There's a lot of data exposed for hacking and hijacking. An autonomous car can generate up to 4000GB or 4TB of data per day. For comparison, on average, a Tesla car generates 2–5 TB of data weekly, which makes the stakes even higher. Hackers could potentially seize control, leading to accidents or for personal exploitative reasons. In countries like Nigeria, where insecurity is a prevalent issue, these auto-machines could be crippled in infancy.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE

Navigating through millions of vehicles and people requires a great deal of intuition rather than predetermined patterns of driving. Human drivers can convey a whole lot of messages with mere eye contact. In terms of this, autonomous drivers can't be compared to human drivers.

Lagos is one of the largest growing economies in Africa, and despite its large population and small land mass, it is still one of the probable places for an autonomous vehicle.

Now, Imagine a traffic scenario where a Danfo driver is signaling a lane change with his hand! The auto-driver, probably confused, keeps stalling, calculating each step meticulously before proceeding. And you can't help but sit in the car, probably frustrated!

Lagos, just like other places in Africa could be a weird environment for these auto-drivers. It's going to take more than just looking at paperwork and data figures for this seamless driving concept to work here in Africa.

LOOKING FORWARD

It's shortsighted to not acknowledge the significant growth of Africa in the last few decades. But it's not enough to close our eyes to the fact that there's still a long way to go.

Africa is home to an untapped population of youth with teeming potential. Perhaps our fellow Africans in the diaspora can look into the feasibility of these auto drivers while considering the puzzling nature of our landscapes and the needs of our people, particularly how our streets can accommodate world-trending innovations.

Until then, for us Africans, the question remains, "How satisfying can these auto drivers be?"

Thank you 😊