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Self - driving cars
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They once seemed preposterous, the things of science fiction movies and comic books detailing a utopian society of some sort. Yet here they are, on the streets, their existance no longer a distant fantasy but a very real issue in the world today. Self-driving cars are finally a reality. With this reality, however, comes questions. How do they work on a mechanical level? What are some problems that could come with them? How does this benefit society? There are many answers to all these questions.
Since the idea of the driverless car was first introduced, many people have been left to wonder how, exactly, a driverless car would work. A variaty of sensors, whic can be generalized into five different catagories, are crucial to the underlying mechanisms of a driverles vehicle. The first and most recognizable would be a GPS unit, used to find the route the car would take. This technology would be enhanced with readings from tachometers, altimeters, and gyroscopes to provide a more accurate positioning of the vehicle. Lidar sensors would be used to identify lanes and the sides of the road by bouncing light off of the vehicle’s surroundings. Cameras would detect signs, pedestrians, and other possible obstacles. Radar sensors would be used for the specific purpose of
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At this point in development, the largest problem has been nothing to do with the mechanics of the car itself, but rather the unpredictability of human drivers nearby. To dictate the issue in simple terms, driverless cars are programmed to follow the rules of the road down to the letter; however, humans are not so functional, often taking their own approach to driving. Consequesntly, often a situation arises where the decision a car makes is the wrong one- it does not coincide with the unwritten rules of the road that the majority of the people in an area might follow, even if it follows the formal
The term autonomous refers to the capability of acting independently, or having the freedom to do so. A self-driving car is an autonomous car, which has the ability to sense its environment and navigating without any human operations. These types of cars are built to make safe and smart decisions on the road. In the past years, automobile companies have begun to introduce advanced driver assistance systems that are capable of parking, switching lanes, and braking in case of an emergency on their own, without the driver’s assistance. Automated vehicles are capable of maneuvering through street traffic, as well as other natural and man-made obstacles along the way. Therefore, this technology might completely change the methods of transportation.
Self-driving cars are now hitting a few roadways in America, and are showing people just a small glimpse into what could be the future of automobiles. Although Google’s self-driving cars are getting a lot of attention now, the idea of a self-driving car has been around for quite a while actually. These cars have been tested to their limits, but the American people have yet to adopt the technology into their everyday lives. A brief description of their history, how they work, and finally answer the question, will self-driving cars ever be adopted widely by the American public?
One reason driverless cars should replace human drivers is because they are safer and offer a comprehensive solution to a problem that plagues the entire world – automobile accidents. Currently, according to Ryan C. C. Chin, around 1.2 million deaths occur worldwide each year due to automotive accidents (1) and in the U.S. alone “more than 37,000 people died in car accidents in 2008, 90% of which died from human mistake” (Markoff 2). Most of these accidents involving human error are caused by fatigued, inattentive, or intoxicated drivers. However, according to Sergey Brin’s the Pros and...
Drunk driving, sleeping at the wheel, and loss of control of a vehicle could be a thing of the past when it comes to new innovations being made towards self-driving cars. When one thinks of a “self-driving” car, it means not having to pay attention to the actual driving and going about putting make-up on or playing on your phone while the car takes you where you want to go, sounds completely sci-fi, but it is likely to happen in the near future. With advances in technology, the car is able to use satellites, cameras, and sensors to take the driver where he or she needs to go. Many companies are researching, manufacturing, and testing different
Driverless cars are already starting to show signs of safer driving. In a test, drive exercise the driverless car demonstrated another vehicle cutting in front of the driverless car. While it was driving itself, still traveling at 100 km per hour the driverless car immediately braked to adjust its speed to maintain a safe distance behind the vehicle that cut in front and slightly moved the steering wheel to stay centre in the lane. It is said that in a situation such as this a human might have overreacted or shake the steering wheel which could of caused the car to steer into another vehicle or off the
Ethical issues are, among those, the most notable ones. In “Why Self-Driving Cars”(2015), it arises a typical ethics dilemma when a driverless car can be programmed to either save the passengers by endangering the innocent nearby or sacrifice its owner to avoid crashing into a crowd. Knight(2015) cites Chris Gerdes, a professor at Stanford University, who gave another scenario when a automated car can save a child’s life but injure the occupant in the car. The real problem is, as indicated by Deng(2015), a car cannot reason and come up with ethical choices and decisions itself like a human does as it must be preprogrammed to respond, which leads to mass concerns. In fact, programmers and designers shoulder the responsibility since those tough choices and decisions should all be made by them prior to any of those specific emergencies while the public tends tolerates those “pre-made errors” less(Knight, 2015; Lin, 2015). In addition to the subjective factors of SDCs developing, Bonnefon and co concludes a paradox in public opinions: people are disposed to be positive with the automated algorithm which is designed to minimize the casualty while being cautious about owning a vehicle with such algorithm which can possibly endanger themselves.(“Why Self-Driving Cars”,
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).
You are sitting in the backseat of your driverless car without a care in the world, watching netflix and enjoying your favorite assortment of snacks and beverages. All of a sudden your car goes from the speed limit to full throttle in one jolt and take off down the freeway. The car is not designed to go this fast and the other cars do not have time to react. Is this really what you want in a truly driverless car, having no control over the situation and putting your life in the hands of autonomic machine? Driverless cars should not be introduced to the common public because of deadly errors in the cars system, problems with the laws and regulations, and the role humans play in these cars.
In recent years, the technology to advance cars to the point of automation has been developing drastically. The idea of automated cars, before the 1950’s, was solely considered to be science fiction. Self-driving cars were only theorized until the concept of an automated car became more realistic as progressions began in 1958, when Nebraska attempted to create cars that could drive themselves through radio signals along electrical circuits. These designs were not all successful many of which continued to have many errors in their design and in their ability to react to unpredicted issues that could spontaneously arise out on an open road. (“Self-Driving Cars”) Since then controversies have arose to safety issues regarding the ability of automated
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
In 69 of the incidents, he driver was forced to take control of the car in order to avoid colliding with another vehicle or other object. Notably, the autonomous cars had difficulty detecting pedestrians, traffic lights, bicyclists, low-hanging branches, and the proximity of parked vehicles. The report confirms that many safety risks still exist for self-driving vehicles.
Human drivers have instincts that cannot be duplicated by technology, but by that same token human error is not a part of a self-driving car. In addition, we also need to take into consideration the transition period, when there are self-driving cars as well as human drivers on the road. Humans can notice the other drivers physically signal to go-ahead, when at a four way stop sign or; offer an opening for the merging lane. This is an example of what human interaction is capable of, that self-driving cars will need to calculate in order to
still the driver’s fault because the cars are still level 3 and are not meant to be used without human supervision and this happens because the computer along with its software fails to recognize dangerous situations and thus prevent collisions. As the report, Self-Driving Cars: Mapping Access to a Technology Revolution suggest, “Passenger safety is reliant on software understanding the nature of threats posed by the environment. It also must be immune to harmful threats imposed by humans through the introduction of viruses or remote intervention over wireless networks” (National Council on Disability, 23). In other words, the programming of the software not only needs to be perfect imitating humans’ reaction at the moment of an emergency,
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.
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). The point is that when driverless cars hit the road the cost of low-speed collision and save consumers money will be reduced. In the article “ Google Driverless Cars Run Into Problem: Cars With Drivers” Slakever states that “One Google car, in a test in 2009, couldn’t get through a four-way stop because its sensors kept waiting for other (human) drivers to stop completely and let it go. The human drivers kept inching forward, looking for the advantage — paralyzing Google’s robot”(Bosker). Current drivers have never followed the rule of the road, which have made the road more prone to any accident. Drivers have found the upper hand on not following traffic laws that makes manufacturing driverless car more meticulous to decrease accidents and breaking traffic laws. The fact that driverless car sensors can detect the errors of other human driven car is extraordinary. Human driven cars are trying to stick to the status quo of the roads when in reality human driven cars are breaking valuable innovation that will make the roads safe for generations to