Are Driverless Modes of Transportation Closer Than We Think?
Autonomous cars are self-driving automobiles capable of navigating the environment without the need for human participation. These robotic vehicles have been a hot, controversial topic in technology with the potential to save energy, reduce accidents, and even change the status quo of personal car ownership.
How Do Self-Driving Cars Work?
There are three basic components to an autonomous vehicle: a global position system (GPS), a dynamic road recognition, and a way to process both structures together to make decisions and perform actions. Dynamic radar cruise control allows for the vehicle to stay within a preset speed range while maintaining an appropriate distance between the vehicles around it. This system combined with a lane departure warning helps the vehicle to stay within the bounds of a lane and remain a safe distance from other cars. The self-driving car defines its route by choosing a starting and ending point via GPS. It then calculates and selects the best possible path based on distance and traffic in the area.
Who's Leading the Way?
Companies most associated and mentioned alongside this innovative technology are Google, Apple, and Tesla. Google has been developing their self-driving car project over the last few years along with their push for electric vehicles. In order to get these cars to market, Google has been testing these cars averaging over 15k – 17k miles per week. Google has estimated that it will release these cars to the public market by the end of 2020.
Apple is another industry giant who is rumored to be working on this enhanced technology. The company has recently tripled its research and development budget to a little over ten billion dollars. "Project Titan" is the alleged codename for Apple's iCar development where representatives have stated that over several hundred employees have been focused. Project Titan has still not been confirmed by the company.
The leading business in electric cars, Tesla has recently released on the road their new Tesla Model 3. With new capabilities in safety, range, and value, this all-electric sedan is in high-demand. The car has an estimated Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) range of 215 miles on a single charge. Tesla is moving rapidly in the autonomous field, incrementally perfecting its craft. Another model, the Tesla Model S, has a self-driving autopilot feature which allows the Model S to change lanes, steer within its lane, and even search for parking spots when prompted.
How Could This Change Our Current Transportation?
Image a world with driver-less taxis, a place where personal car ownership is a relic of the past. Driverless vehicles would be able to improve on fuel costs and reduce accidents changing the way we view transportation forever. A ride in an Uber or Taxi without a driver would be far cheaper if not paying the driver's wages. Uber CEO has mentioned on his Twitter in the past that they eventually plan to switch over to driverless vehicles and would happily jump on that opportunity.
The biggest heated controversy when dealing with autonomous transportation next to safety is the threat of job removal. Alongside taxis, driverless trucks and cargo vehicles would allow for faster, easier movements of shipping without the need for human rest. Continuous autonomous overnight travel may not be as far off as we think.
Are Self-Driving Vehicles Safe?
Most accidents on the road are attributed to human error, being able to remove that error from the equation can make the streets safer. One of Google's co-founders Sergey Brin defends the accident records of self-driving cars releasing monthly information that shows their progress along with any vehicle accident reports. He claims that while having a little over a dozen minor accidents in the last six years they have been testing, the self-driving cars have never been at fault.
Steps towards Driverless Cars
There's still some time before autonomous vehicles are driving on the roads wide-scale, but it's safe to say that technology will gradually take over the wheel. Safety, comfort, and traffic guidance will further improve as internetworking between the systems becomes more extensive. Google's self-driving cars have recently been graduated to city streets and will begin further public road testing. These tests are a necessity in order to evaluate the vehicle in intricate real-life scenarios.