In 2011, TED Talk released a remarkable video of a man named Dennis Hong designing a car for the visually impaired using robotics. As strange as this concept sounds, the advanced age we live in can make that possible eventually. According to the CNIB, about a half a million Canadians alone are either blind, partially blind, or lost vision over time due to natural decline. In Ontario alone, about 186,954 people are either blind or partially sighted. With that said, this is a problem for people in Canada (particularly Ontario) to get around safely and effectively. Dennis Hong had an amazing idea to merge Artificial Intelligence (aka AI) to replace and aid a person with no or partial sense of sight. With the use of Cameras, IMU, GPS, and LIDARs Technology. All cars …show more content…
Its overall purpose is to use laser light technology to sense and measure reflected pulses. Differences in laser return times and wavelengths can then be used to make three-dimensional representations of the target. Therefore making this technology vital in determining the objects in front or behind the vehicle. The second step is Computation. Dennis explains how all these technologies work to compute information and instructions. The information computed from the technologies allows the AI to develop the sense of awareness to learn what is happening in its environment. With this it allows the car to adapt to the individual's needs. For an example, if a visually impaired person lives in a rural environment that has no paved roads and is pretty open with lots of hills the AI will adapt to its environment appropriately by retaining the information. The next computation is instructions, the set of instructions allow the impaired driver to have physical control example of the wheel when to turn the computer will automatically set audio instructions like turn right or turn left while moving the steering wheel into the direction it needs to go as a
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.
The innovation of technology has always strived to do better, but now reality has caught up with the idea that trying to get self-driving, robot like cars on the road is going to be a logistical nightmare. Self-driving cars will help society and the economy grow and improve, as it pushes the limit to what is possible, however it does pose some problems as it becomes more mainstream.
Companies like Google, Tesla and Nissan, among others, have announced over the past few years that their companies are trying to develop self-driving or autonomous cars [Ref. 1 and 2]. Self-driving cars can provide many benefits to the average consumer. Studies have shown that because computers can react and process information many times faster than a human being, crashes on streets and roads can be decreased with quick and consistent evasion maneuvers by the autonomous car. They can also help maximize fuel economy by calculating the most direct and fastest routes. When the driving of an autonomous car demonstrates that the computer can safely and reliably transport the passengers to their destination, this frees up the passengers to do other things that they would not normally be able to do if they were driving the car manually. For this reason, self-driving cars can help maximize productivity of their passengers.
While most people haven’t noticed, many of the important features that would be required for self-driving cars already exist. Many vehicles utilize Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS, such as rearview cameras, lane monitoring, and self-braking systems (Snyder). As one could imagine, employing enough ADAS essentially allows vehicles to operate themselves.
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.
As many everyday drivers can testify, long work days or activities can only be worsened by the added component of driving to them. But with self-driving cars becoming your new way of transportation, drivers may begin to realize what an asset a car that drives itself can be. Kristen Weir, in her article “Along For The Ride”, explains how a university professor from the University of Southampton discovers “that adaptive cruise control-in which a car maintains a safe following distance from the vehicle ahead of it-can reduce a driver’s mental workload and stress levels.” This type of technology is already a function in many on the cars on the road, so imagine the sigh of relief that would occur once drivers realize that they would be able to escape the burden of driving, and could focus on other, more important activities to each individual driver. Self-driving car opponents point out that if drivers are completely unaware of their vehicles movements all of the time, this could add additional stress to your commute or ride that was not previously an issue. Yet after this technology has been developed in such a way that it becomes perfectly safe, drivers may feel a weight taken off of their back as the burden of driving your car to work or school is
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.
There are approximately 10 to 11 million blind and visually impaired people in North America, and their visual abilities vary almost as much as their ethnic, racial, and personal characteristics do. The term "visual impairment" covers a wide range and variety of vision, from blindness and lack of usable sight; to low vision, which cannot be corrected to normal vision with standard eyeglasses or contact lenses; to moderate visual impairment and an inability to read the fine print in a daily newspaper.
Autonomous Cars or the Self Driving Cars are capable to drive themselves without any human intervention. The Autonomous cars are designed such that they can drive themselves by sensing their environment and navigate without human input. Autonomous cars sense their surroundings using technologies like RADAR, LIDAR, GPS and Coy computer vision. Some autonomous vehicles update their maps based on sensory input, allowing the vehicles to keep track of their position even when conditions change or when they enter uncharted environments. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), United States has classified these self driving cars in some levels. For example, Level 0- The driver completely controls the vehicle at all times. Level 1-Automated braking and electronic stability control of the vehicle are automated. Level2- Two controls can be automated in combination like cruise control along with lane keeping. Similarly the other levels have advanced controls, like car senses conditions when it requires the driver to take control, in another level the car performs all the safety critical functions for the entire trip.
[3] USHIO, N. S. 1998. Loop vs ultrasonic in Chicago: Ultrasonic vehicle detector field test isolating diffused reflection and enduring harsh environment.
The basic aim of steering is to ensure that the wheels are pointing in the desired directions.The steering system allows the driver to guide the moving vehicle on the road and turn it right or left as desired.
Imagine a world where you could travel places without touching the steering wheel in a car. The once fictional dream of driverless cars is becoming a reality, with many large auto-companies like Mercedes, Audi, Ford, BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo and, especially Google investing into this developing technology. What is a driverless car? A driverless car or an automated car is a robotic vehicle that is designed to travel between destinations with or without human assistance. According to the IEEE institute by year 2040, more than 75% of all cars will be driverless. As technology in society advances many risks and problems arise with it. Self-driving cars are a wrong step in society
Robotics and artificial intelligence is the way of the future. Imagine sitting at work and your co-worker is a robot, not just a robot but one who looks like a human, seems a bit far fetched but as predicted by The National Intelligence Council(NIC), a United States government think-tank and research group, technologies will be advanced enough to assume low skilled jobs by the year 3025(Lohr, Steve). Generations beyond this day and age will find it normal to talk to computers just as Siri on the I-phone has become apart of our society. With proper support for emerging technologies, we can have intelligent transportation networks that run as efficiently as factories(Noor, Ahmed K). “Our young children and grandchildren will think it is completely natural to talk to machines that look at them and understand them,”said Eric Horvitz, a Microsoft research laboratory computer scientist.(Lohr, Steve) Robotics and artificial intelligence presence in society is increasing greatly every day with increases in technology.
Other voice advancements inside the car besides the ability to control the stereo is also a computerized location system. The global positioning satellite locates vehicles, then directions and other commands are given by voice from the computer center to the driver of the automobile.
you car it uses computers the second you turn the key (General Motors is the