The automation of vehicles is taken to strongly imply robotic devices elsewhere in society.

Apart from more sophisticated robot hoovers, lawn mowers I don't think that is necessarily so.

Hoovers and mowers are safe because they are small, light, low to the ground and constrained to floors and lawns.

Vehicles, fast, heavy, high, are in a controlled environment.

Other controlled enviroments like factories have already ventured into robotics.

It seems to me that main advantages of automated movement would exist in unstructured environments like streets, shops. The robots I've seen so far have low center of gravity, are heavy so as to inhibit any danger.

What exactly does automated driving do for other unstructured environments?

It is far from clear to me that this is going to be a trifle soon after the roads swarm with autos.