Self-Driving Cars Are Better at Everything, Except Judgement
Google is facing a couple of interesting challenges with the cars right now, one of which I heard about from someone close to the company…
The first challenge is driving in snow. When snow is on the road, the cars often have a tough time “seeing” the lane markers and other cues that they use to stay correctly positioned on the road. It will be interesting to see how the Google team sorts that one out.
A second challenge, apparently, is when the car encounters a change in a road that is not yet reflected in its onboard “map.” In those situations, the car can presumably get lost, just the way a human can.
A third challenge is driving through construction zones, accident zones, or other situations in which a human is directing traffic with hand signals. The cars are excellent at observing stop signs, traffic lights, speed limits, the behavior of other cars, and other common cues that human drivers use to figure out how fast to go and where and when to turn. But when a human is directing traffic with hand signals—and especially when these hand signals conflict with a traffic light or stop sign—the cars get confused.
Nissan to Phase Out Mechanical Link Between Steering Wheel and Tyres Starting in 2013
Nissan wants to cut the mechanical link between the steering wheel and the tires on some of its 2013 automobiles with steer-by-wire technology. It could make driving more like playing a video game, or more of a full-on engagement with the road, depending who you ask.
The system would replace the conventional rack and pinion setup with one that controls the tire angles and steering inputs with independent electronic controls, similar to the trusted fly-by-wire interface in aircraft. “This transmits the driver’s intentions to the wheels even faster than a mechanical system and increases the direct driving performance feel by quickly and intelligently communicating road surface feedback to the driver,” the automaker said in a release.
“For example, even on a road surface with minor ridges or furrows, the driver no longer has to grip the steering wheel tightly and make detailed adjustments, so traveling on the intended path becomes easier.” Some Inifiti models will get the tech next year. They could have fewer parts, requiring less maintenance, and could be somewhat lighter, reducing fuel consumption.
(via Nissan to introduce steer-by-wire cars in 2013 | Cutting Edge - CNET News)
Robot cars could increase highway efficiency 273 percent: Study
Research in self-driving vehicles has naturally focused on how to make the car imitate an intelligent driver: recognizing and navigating obstacles, reading signs and performing other common tasks. If there were only going to be a single such vehicle on the road, surrounded by human-guided cars, then that’s the most important thing to perfect. But what if nearly every car on the road is a robo-car?
Tientrakool’s paper looks at the difference in efficiency between when autonomous vehicles don’t communicate and when they act as a team. She concludes that cars simply managing their own speed would increase efficiency by an appreciable 43 percent, but if they were working together, that number jumps to a staggering 273 percent.
Cars would achieve this by banding together into groups, driving much closer to one another than humans do, and working out the best possible solution to things like merging and changes in traffic. Another study by Steven Shladover at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies makes similar predictions based on this “platooning” of vehicles.
(via Robot cars could increase highway efficiency 273 percent: Study, ht futuramb ht emergentfutures)
KPMG Report Sees Autonomous Cars in Dealerships Before 2020
Autonomous cars will be in showrooms as early as 2019, or maybe even sooner, according to a report released by KPMG and the Center for Automotive Research,
The report’s authors explain that “sensor-based technologies” and “connected-vehicle communications” need to converge. Essentially, cars need to be able to communicate with other vehicles on the road so they don’t bash into each other. They also need the ability to sense and respond to the surrounding infrastructure: stop signs, street lights, guardrails, and many other basic transportation signals.
Tata Commercializing City Car That Runs on Compressed Air
The Tata AirPod is a city car running on compressed air (as well as a battery-powered electric motor). The ease of converting air into an energy source using simple compressors means charging stations can be placed anywhere, and they require no provisioning — no trucks delivering gas, ethanol, or hydrogen — and they produce no emissions, just discharge of the air.
The AirPod can run 125mi (200k) at a top speed between 28 to 43mph (45 to 70kph). The car is intended for a single rider, and has a small cargo area in the back.
This is breakthrough design: it undercuts most of the negatives of the system it is designed to replace. And unlike other alternatives to traditional cars, it does not require an entire supply chain to exist before becoming practical in a single location. A city like New York could roll out a citywide fleet of AirPods Just like it is rolling out a bike sharing program (although the city’s bike share program has been delayed). It doesn’t need to build nuclear reactors, or deal with some hard-to-transport alternative fuel. In fact, New York City could simply repurpose existing gas stations or parking lots with compressors, and card readers.
Totally awesome. Here’s the future. There Just need to make them stackable, like this:
- Tata commercializing an air-powered car (reviews.cnet.com)
- Tata Brings Air Powered Car to India, Calls it AirPod (Video) (onlygizmos.com)
- Are Air Cars Really An Option, Or The Next Alt-Fuel Joke? (greencarreports.com)
(ht stoweboyd)
EU to Mandate Autonomous Emergency Braking for Commercial Vehicles in 2013
New rules coming down from the European Commission will require all commercial vehicles to be fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) technology by November 2013, and passenger vehicles could soon follow suit.
These cars will go beyond simply sending a signal to the driver when they detect an impending collision via radar, lidar (that’s like radar but with light), or video sensors and apply the brakes themselves.
…proponents of the system think it could drastically curtail traffic accidents (particularly fender benders at low speeds) and save billions of euros annually across Europe by reducing the economic productivity lost to accident-related congestion. One study commissioned by the EC showed traffic accidents could be cut by more than a quarter.
(via Europe Will Require New Vehicles to Include Autonomous Self-Braking System | Popular Science)
Japanese “Driverless Driving” Plan to Go Live in 2020s
Japan’s Transport Ministry is about to start a project to create an autopilot system which would take over for cars on expressways.
The ministry envisages an autonomous vehicle system in which, after leaving your home, you enter an interchange of a nearby expressway while manually operating your car.
When pulling into the expressway’s lane exclusively for the autopilot system, you change your driving mode to “automatic driving” and input your destination onto the system. You would take your hands and feet off the steering wheel, gas pedal and brake.
You would return to driving on your own only after reaching an intersection near your destination. Until then, you would leave all driving tasks to the self-steering system, comfortably enjoying whatever activity you like.
The system is hoped to alleviate congestion by keeping vehicles going at a constant speed, while eliminating accidents caused by vehicles veering out of lanes.
A study panel will being initial discussions about the project this month, with an aim to have the system operational in around 10 years.
(via ‘Driverless driving’ envisioned for early 2020s ht 8bitfuture)
Smart Headlights “Dis-illuminate” Raindrops and Snowflakes to Reduce Glare
A prototype headlight system can detect raindrops or snow streaks and “dis-illuminate” them, thereby increasing visibility on the road ahead.
The system uses a digital projector to illuminate raindrops for several milliseconds while a camera mounted on the side of the projector captures each raindrop’s location; software predicts where those raindrops will fall within the driver’s field of view. Light rays from the headlight that would normally hit the raindrop are automatically switched off, reducing glare and leaving only the beams of light which travel uninterrupted in between the falling drops.
(via Smart Headlights See through Rain and Snow - Technology Review)
Autonomous Car Test With Real Traffic in Spain: 3 Cars, 1 Truck, 125 Miles, No Hands
Three cars and a truck successfully drove themselves 125 miles down a highway in Spain, using radar and laser tracking to follow each other closely while their human passengers read magazines.
Project SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) tested the vehicles alongside actual human motorists, some of whom may have caused safety issues of their own by rubbernecking at the hands-free steering wheels. Volvo and car automation company Ricardo wanted to test how well the cars could follow a lead vehicle in real traffic.
A truck and three Volvo vehicles, an XC60, a V60 and a S60, drove behind a manned, controlled truck cruising at 53 miles per hour. The team covered 125 miles in one day, according to Volvo, which is one of the main SARTRE partners. The cars traveled between 16 and 50 feet apart throughout the test.
The vehicles used wireless cameras, radar and laser sensors to monitor the lead truck as well as other cars. The entire platoon follows the actions of its leader, including steering, braking and accelerating, according to Volvo. In that sense, the cars aren’t totally autonomous, but collectively following one human-controlled vehicle…
Project SARTRE has been testing this configuration for several years now, but this is the first time the self-driving cars got themselves on the road with other traffic. It’s a key piece of evidence that a system like this could work.
(via Video: First Autonomous Road Train Cruises Down Public Spanish Highway | Popular Science)
Ford Uses Virtual Reality to Accelerate Car Design Process
Designing a car can take years, but Ford has been able to cut the process in half, from six years to three years, by using virtual reality. “We are able to cheat reality,” says Elizabeth Baron, a VR technical specialist at Ford. She says virtual reality enables the automaker to do all kinds of tests in a short period of time, though there are limitations to the technology too.
(Video after link)
