The idea of driverless cars is not unknown and it could become a reality too. The question is Are the parents prepared to trust the safety of their children aboard a driverless school bus?

Understanding how Driverless Vehicles Navigate Traffic

Self driving systems are equipped with different types of sensors like cameras, radar, lidar, GPS etc to create a map of their surroundings. It depends on machine learning/AI for its smooth operation. The data is then compiled by the vehicle’s software to plot a path and sends instructions to the vehicle’s actuators to get the acceleration, braking and steering going. The software is programmed with road-safety rules, obstacle avoidance algorithms etc

Autonomous driving levels
Autonomous driving is graded as under –
Level 1 which involves minimal automation
Level 3 would involve some human intervention
Level 4 is complete self-driving under limited conditions in a carefully mapped area
Level 5 is complete automation

As of now, no self-driving system has been certified as level 3 or 4 in U.S.

How far are we from sending our kids to school on a driver less school bus?

A Seattle based design firm has come up with a prototype for a future autonomous school bus and called it Hannah. It consists of only six seats facing each other. It would pick and drop students from their homes. Hannah is a palindromic vehicle. It can move off in the opposite direction without having to turn around. Its facial recognition technology bars anyone who isn’t scheduled for from travelling on it.

Source: https://www.thetechedvocate.org/are-we-really-on-our-way-to-self-driving-school-buses/