Driverless Cars - The Technology That Is Shaping The Automotive Industry

I Driverless Cars The Technology That Is Shaping The Future Of The Automotive Industry We've known about Google's driverless car for some time Tech giants Apple have recently confirmed their entry For the most part, Joe Public is still getting to grips with the fact that soon; humans into the automotive market won't drive cars, cars will drive humanss Who Is Developing Driverless Cars? You may expect it just to be the world's leading It is encouraging to see that technology companies Those known to be actively working on development automotive manufacturers are also in the act. We're at the moment include: who are developing self-driving cars seeing new parties jumping on the bandwagon all the time • Google • Apple Uber Mercedes • Tesla • Audi • Volvo • Nissan • Honda • Volkswagen Similarly, it's not surprising that the tech-savvy Japanese are rapidly progressing too It's clear that the USA is The UK and mainland leading the way in development and testing of driverless cars Europe are catching up Department | for Transport The British government recently The Department for Transport (DfT') announced that £19million is to have also released an official code be made available for research of practice for the testing. and there's three prototypes which will begin testing shortly. How Do They Work? TECHNOLOGY! If we look at Google's development (arguably the most advanced at this stage), it works on a very simple principle of The vehicle is GPS provided a rough summoned by a smartphone for pick up location of the vehicle. with the destination set. Radar, lasers and cameras then take over to monitor the world around the car - 360-degrees. There's no manual control or steering wheel, simply a start button and big red emergency stop button. The car is powered by an The software can recognise objects, people, cars, road markings, signs and traffic lights; even road works. electric motor with around a 100 mile range. combination of It uses sensors (which can see up to 600 feet) and software to locate itselfcombined with highly accurate digital maps. Where Are These Vehicles Being Tested? 4 US States (Nevada, Florida, California & Michigan) have passed legislation allowing "driverless vehicles" to be driven Most of the manufacturers Google have already begun this and have already driven are or are preparing to test more than 1 million miles within the state. in California. on the roads. They can also be driven in Washington D.C. "Google Business Secretary Vince Cable says, "In the US and continental Europe, they don't at the moment have regulatory framework to make it Across the pond, The British Government is taking a "non-regulatory" approach to testing and those wanting to test driverless vehicles openly on public roads won't have to gain any certificate or permit. They'll have to adhere to the code of practice but won't have to jump through legal hoops. possible, wh ich we do." Why Do We Need Them? Driverless cars WILL save lives. 1,775 people died in car accidents in the UK last year and over 30,000 in the USA, many due to human error which would be eradicated. Less emissions means a We'd experience less traffic jams as all cars drive the right speed. We could see insurance premiums fall as a result of 'safer' driving. cleaner planet. Cars would park themselves, eliminating those moments of difficulty. The number of parking fines and speeding tickets would be reduced. Any Problems? Since testing began in 2009, Google's self driving cars have been involved in 14 accidents, all of which have been the fault of human error, NOT the driverless car. It's early days, however we must remember that these vehicles rely on technology and technology can occasionally fail... Another worry at this stage is that of cyber risk and hacking as well as the potential for the owners of such vehicles to become targets of crime. When Will They Be Available To Buy? It is expected that we'll see driverless cars on the market by 2025, seeing them in use all over the | world by this stage, however it could be as early as 2020 Uber have stated that their aim is to be completely driverless by 2030. Google's Sergey Brin has openly aimed for their model to be available by 2018. The 'tipping point' from conventional to driverless cars is expected around 2050. How Much Will They Cost? Whilst we're still some way away from a model being commercially launched, at the moment it's estimated that driverless vehicles will cost £175,000 as well as a high price for repairs and replacement parts. It's an exciting time and technology is changing the automotive industry at a rapid pace, working to save lives, reduce traffic and save our planet. Is there anything that 'tech' can't touch in 2015? THE FUTURE OF MOTORING IS THE DRIVERLESS CAR...WATCH THIS SPACE Brought to you by www.coxmotorparts.co.uk %24 IIIIII