Are Driverless Cars Close To Becoming A Reality?

Are Driverless Cars Close To Being a Reality? There's a big shake up happening in the car world, autonomous vehicles, or driverless cars, are closer to being on our roads than ever before. The Story So Far The first automobile, There are approx. Rising to 2 billion the Benz Patent- 1.2 billion cars by 2035, 10% of Motorwagen was on the road which will be built in 1886. in 2016. driverless. But are we ready for driverless cars? So, What is a Driverless Car? "A robotic vehicle that is designed to travel between destinations without a human operator." – TechTarget When Were They First Seen? Norman Bel Geddes in his Futurama exhibit, sponsored by General Motors at the 1939 World Fair! Who's Working on Them Now? Google Ford TESLA NISSAN Audi TOYOTA How Do They Work? Radar Lidar accident prevention systems help the car judge distances and detect potential issues multiple lasers help the car build a 360-degree view of its surroundings Infrared Camera extends vision at night without blinding other drivers Lane Guidance Wheel Encoders mounted cameras mounted sensors identify road markings and keep the car within boundary lines measure the velocity of the car Other Features: Highly accurate GPS and windshield-mounted 3D cameras detect and recognise the macro location, building an accurate 3D image of the surrounding area. Why Make Driverless Cars? The key reason is safety. Google suggests reducing human intervention in driving will reduce accidents considerably: 300K $190 billion 90% A saving of $190 billion each year in Self-driving cars 300,000 lives will reduce road saved per traffic accidents by decade associated health over 90% costs What the Experts Think: "The shift toward autonomy and, ultimately, driverless cars will have much broader implications than you'd think. Safety is of course the primary goal, and I firmly believe that autonomous cars will save lives. However, the secondary implications cannot be discounted. Imagine the elimination of traffic congestion thanks to the removal of arbitrary speed limits. Or, picture a two-fold increase in available urban parking once garages are optimized for cars that park themselves. The deeper you look the more potential you can find, and I'm quite optimistic about it all." - Tim Stevens, Roadshow "The goal of self-driving cars, to reduce traffic accidents, injuries and deaths, is a laudable one. But we don't have self-flying planes and there is far less traffic in the skies. My best hope for self-driving cars is that some elements of the technology can be employed to reduce driver stress and fatigue and reduce distraction. I don't believe it is possible to program a machine to perfectly react to every possible situation that can come up on the road in a world where some cars are automated and some aren't." - Richard Truett, Autonews What Are the Pros & Cons? Pros Cons Use of time: The average UK motorist spends 6 weeks a year driving. Without having to focus on driving, this time can be put to better use by the driver to relax, sleep, have It's expensive: The cost of implementing all the new technologies, sensors, software and other parts and systems adds up to more than £68,000 ($100,000) per vehicle. a face-to-face conversation or do whatever else they choose. Availability will impact effectiveness: Until more people opt in to driverless vehicles, the technology Reducing congestion and emissions: Autonomous powering driverless cars vehicles will offer better won't work until the use of road space. As the vehicles are widely used 'connected cars' and accidents will still technology allows cars to happen. communicate, driverless cars will be able to drive closer to each other, work out the optimum route to avoid congestion and reduce journey time. Hacking: As autonomous vehicles will be powered and controlled by computers, they are susceptible to hacking and being taken over from Accessibility: Driverless technology and fully external influences. autonomous vehicles will "Self-driving cars will fundamentally transform mobility. When discussing self-driving cars and the fun of driving, we tend to forget allow those without a driving license to have use of a vehicle. People deemed unfit to drive such as elderly people or disabled people that are those who are without a driver's license; test rides in unable to drive will all be autonomous vehicles are able to get in a car and get known to turn sceptics into to their chosen destination. advocates - even if the car's autonomous features are known not to be perfect yet." - Dr. Alexander Hars, Driverless Future What the Experts Think: "Driverless cars are, for all the headlines, a cruel fiction. Even at the outer edge of what's being considered we're a very long way from a car that can operate without a human occupant in nominal part-time control. And that's probably a good thing. What we are going to see soon is partially autonomous cars, able to operate themselves in certain situations but needing to be actively driven in others. These will be able to handle the challenge of something like a free-flowing motorway or queueing in a traffic jam, but they almost certainly won't be able to pilot themselves through an environment as challenging as central Paris or Mumbai (or even London) if they have to share the road with non-autonomous cars. For full autonomy, and the idea of truly driverless vehicles moving in urban areas, we will need to be looking at an environment where every vehicle is compelled to follow the same rules, whether driven by a human or not." - Mike Duff, European Editor (Car and Driver) What the Public Think: 57% 82% 57% of people had concerns about driving or being a passenger in a driverless vehicle 82% of people had concerns about equipment or system failure 44% 23% In the UK, 23% said they would refuse to travel without a driver, while 44% of people would still focus on the road if driving in an autonomous vehicle... which is handy, because.. (7Z) [When testing Tesla's Autopilot] "While it's nice to be driven, however, you're still legally not allowed to check your phone, have a nap, or play Top Trumps. This makes life very boring for you, and will - because I experienced it – make you want to alleviate the boredom with impromptu staring contests with your passenger, or double-handed waves to freak people out when they drive past you in the fast lane." - Alex Kersten, Editor (CarThrottle) Will People Buy Them? UK versus USA Would be 'very 18% interesteď' in 44% Would buy a fully automated car buying AK Have 'no interest 36% at all' in buying 55% Would buy a partially automated car If Not, Why Not? 29% 29% of people from the UK said they wouldn't buy a driverless car because of the loss of enjoyment gained from driving 56% 32% 56% percent said 32% are concerned about cyber security and hacking lack of human control puts them off Barriers to Progress What are the factors that might slow down the progression of driverless motoring? Dealing with Unexpected Circumstances: Questions have been asked about how autonomous vehicles will deal with unforeseen situations such as a police officer waving a car through a red light. This would require the driver to take over and therefore still need a skilled driver with a license. Legal Issues and Insurance: If a driverless car does crash, who takes the blame? How do insurance companies overcome this obstacle? Furthermore, will there be any need for motor insurance at all? What the Experts Think: "What people must consider is how the rapid development of autonomous cars over the last few years suggests the technology is easier to create than the minefield of laws which will have to accompany them." - James Brodie, The Week So, When Can We Expect to See Driverless Cars on Our Roads? We're already seeing many aspects of autonomy in vehicles that are on the road today from features such as autopilot, assisted emergency breaking and self-parking, to cruise control which has been around for decades. NISSAN Google- Ford O TOYOTA 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Estimated manufacturer release date SOURCES : www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/11403807/How-a-driverless-car-wil-benefit-you.html www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/13/self-driving-cars-bmw-google-2020-driving en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_autonomous_caregridlock whatis.techtarget.com/definition/driverless-car www.technology-law-blog.co.uk www.driverless-future.com RaC dx