Driverless Cars – The future of safe transport
By Akhila Potluru
Description of driverless cars
We live in a world where 1.3 million people die every single year in car related incidents, whether they be the driver, passenger or pedestrians. This is 1.3 million people that die as a result of unsafe driving or failing vehicles. This issue is something that affects us all, and is at the fault of human error mixed with the power of technology.
However amongst the emerging technologies companies such as google are creating, driverless cars are probably one of the most important, and vital when it comes to improving the conditions of transport and more importantly its safety.
The world of self-driving cars is only around the corner, and companies
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They are a much safer option when compared to human driving. This is true as it rules out human error such as not following traffic rules, or speeding. As it follows every single rule and has no human doubt, it makes travelling much safer, and if everybody were to travel using self-driving cars that would result in smoother traffic, with less accidents and in result less lives loss.
Driverless cars are currently in development, although some cities are paving special roads for their future use.
The Netherlands is a key example of this.
Why I chose to write about driverless cars
I have chosen to report on this specific technology as I believe technology is about making life safer and solving problems, and I believe those 1.3 million people every year are people that shouldn’t have to die. Through the use of Driverless cars we can…
1. Save lives
2. Make travel more efficient and quick.
I believe driverless cars are important as we influence the safety of people, which is the most crucial idea when changing an aspect of everyday lives.
In addition I find the idea of revolutionising the way we travel incredibly interesting, and want to find out more about how artificial intelligence could replace our own.
When driverless cars were
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How driverless cars work
There are a few main features of driverless cars…
Sensors
Sensors are used to check the surrounding of the car, this can be anything from people to animals to signs. This is more effective than a human drivbing as it means
GPS (global positioning system)
GPS is used to navigate the car to wherever people need it to go. It also ensures that the fastest route is taken and thing such as traffic or weather is taken into consideration which is something humans usually don’t do on a daily basis.
Laser range finder
A laser on top of cars are able to sense objects up to 200m away, this is needed so the car can understand the difference between moving objects and inanimate objects so it can plan accordingly.
Programmes to interpret road signs
Software has been programmed to recognise and act upon what sign it sees. So if it sees a sight mentioning the road speed, the car will be able to analyse this and then adjust the car speed to suit the need.
Internal
In conclusion, Self-driving cars are a very sophisticated project. Because of that, people ask how do they work and when are they officially being released? Now that car manufactures have developed the technology, different companies are rumoring about self-driving cars. They are coming soon, but sooner that you
GM is already producing the technology catering to the autonomous driving system in instalments as each new car produced, displays a prototype of a sophisticated “assisted driving” feature. Drivers of the Cadillac ATS sedan, a mid-sized car with a driver assistance, can now leave it to drive itself and maintain a safe distance in steady traffic. It can also measure a parking space and steer itself into it, read traffic signals, and warn the driver if he breaks the speed limit. Emergency brakes that overrule the driver’s actions in the case of an accident, add to special features that will be seen in automatic cars.
Google believes that self-driving cars will increase safety, reduce traffic, and be better on the
Driverless cars have 360 degree monitoring and have the potential to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives (Brown).
Although there are issues with implementing self-driving cars on the roads today, self-driving cars can ultimately benefit society. According to public announcements made by companies like Tesla and Nissan, we may start seeing self-driving cars on the roads within the next 3 to 6 years [Ref. 1 and 2].
In 2010, Google broadcasted that they created an archetype of a car that can drive itself; its purpose, to avert collisions, allow citizens more time, and cut down on harmful pollutants that vehicles produce (Poczter & Jankovic, 2014). The heart of the self-driving automobile is lasers that are mounted on the roof of a modified Toyota Prius that produces a precise three-dimensional atlas of the area surrounding the car. Furthermore, the automobile is outfitted with four radars, and another laser around the vehicle that allows it to precisely create a 3-D map of its surroundings (Poczter & Jankovic, 2014). The vehicle calculates the laser dimensions with high-resolution maps of the globe, which allows it to drive itself without human intervention, while evading obstacles and obeying traffic laws (How Google’s self-Driving Car Works, 2011).
Driverless cars do hold potential in reducing the amount of accidents on the road. One article states that human mistakes make up more than 90 percent of car accidents and that no matter what problems the autonomous vehicle (AV) possesses, it will still reduce this percentage (Ackerman 3). Humans sometimes make blunders that create an accident
Driverless vehicles, otherwise known as autonomous, automated or driverless cars, are no longer science fiction. The technology is here, and several companies are already testing them on the roads. A Total of forty-four corporations are working on autonomous vehicles, ranging from automotive industry stalwarts to leading technology brands and telecommunications companies. In this venture, Tesla Motors and Alphabet seem to be leading the way in the automotive industry with their recent releases of partially-autonomous vehicles. Despite early setbacks including the accidental death of Josh Brown, a forty year old Hollywood star, who was using the autopilot system in the Tesla Model when he crashed the vehicle, or Uber briefly suspending its own program after a self-driving car crashed in Tempe, Arizona, and the public’s outcry on the reliability of driverless cars, private companies working in auto tech are attracting record
Driverless cars are becoming a very big subject in the U.S. Carmakers such as Volkswagen and General Motors are going to be selling driverless cars in no more than three to four years. Many states have passed the law for driverless cars, and many more states are considering( Tribune News Service). Yes driverless cars are cool and helpful, just think about the car accidents that have happened. Driverless cars are just unsafe and unpredictable.
People around the world are constantly moving from place to place. Whether that place is work, a restaurant, or home, people require a means of transportation in order to arrive at a desired destination safely and efficiently. One of the most used means of transportation today are cars. Cars play an important role in the world’s economy by transporting goods and people. Automobiles have come a long way since Ford’s first Model T, and the auto industry plans to further enhance the technology and capabilities of the cars that drive on our roads. New technological advancements like rear-view camera, self parking, and auto braking have greatly improved the overall safety of cars today. However, one of the most talked about ideas are autonomous
Self-driving cars are the wave of the future. There is much debate regarding the impact a self-driving car will have on our society and economy. Some experts believe fully autonomous vehicles will be on the road in the next 5-10 years (Anderson). This means a vehicle will be able to drive on the road without a driver or any passengers. Like any groundbreaking technology, there is a fear of the unforeseen problems. Therefore, there will need to be extensive testing before anyone can feel safe with a vehicle of this style on the road. It will also take time for this type of technology to become financially accessible to the masses, but again alike any technology with time it should be possible. Once the safety concern has been fully addressed
Technology is evolving faster than ever these days, however there is one technology that could revolutionize the transportation industry. This technology is called autonomous cars, also known as self-driving cars. Autonomous cars can be defined as a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment, and navigating without human input. Using different techniques such as GPS and radar, autonomous cars can detect surroundings, thus removing the human element in driving. This would have a positive effect in more ways than we could ever imagine. Research suggests that self-driving cars will become more abundant in the future because they will be more cost-effective, enhance safety, and decrease traffic congestion.
Are driverless cars really needed in today's society? Many people and big businesses think so. Going on a road trip? click a button, sit back relax and wait until you arrive at your destination. Many, however, are skeptical of these driverless cars, Both sides have very good reasons for their beliefs but most people believe this is going to give the government too much control.
However, driverless cars should be tested more due to the lack of knowledge because of growing concerns around hacking, lack of confidence for the driver and the job and economic boost it could implode. The engineering that goes into a driverless car covers all areas of mechanics, computing software and so on, which still tends to frighten some drivers of its monstrosity on the inside. In the article “Google Cars Becoming Safer: Let the Robots Drive” it states that, “The economic lift from ridding the roads of human-driven vehicles would be over $190 billion per year. That would primarily come from reducing property damage caused by low-speed collisions”(Salkever).
But it may take some time till we get there, there is still some things to be figured out before they are fully here. Two terms for the switch to autonomous have become standard in the auto industry. There's the path of evolutionary to autonomous vehicles where they eventually get better and better and more high tech as time goes on. So coming soon, today's cars will have more self driving features, and there will be many more autonomous options coming bit by bit. For example,Tesla's autopilot feature, is a form of evolution in vehicles. Autonomous cars are a whole new era in the car and vehicle industry. And even better, with more technology comes the "revolutionary" path. That's where cars will be completely self driven, not only autopilot like the Tesla, but completely self driving, like some of the ones Google is working on. It will start as test vehicle, and become more and more mainstream like autopilot vehicles as they will be able to drive in more places. There's a big debate over which path is safer, and which one is the better path, but soon both of the paths will eventually converge.(Tesla