Autonomous Vehicles
http://www.automotto.org/entry/driverless-cars-to-be-a-reality/
History
• The first actual representation was in 1977 at the Tsukuba Mechanical Engineering Lab in Japan- Got up to 30 km/h by tracking white street markers
http://www.photoeverywhere.co.uk/east/melbourne/slides/fitzroy065567.htm
History Cont.• 1980s DARPA-funded Autonomous Land Vehicle in U.S. achieved first
road following demonstration that used:- laser (Environmental Research Institute of Michigan)
- computing vision (Carnegie Mellon University and SRI)- autonomous robotic control (Carnegie Mellon and Martin Marietta)- Goes up to 30km/h
http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/CMU.html
History Cont.
• In 2000 three U.S. Gov’t funded military efforts known as Demo I (Army), Demo II (DARPA), and Demo III (Army) are underway.
• Demo III demonstrated the ability to drive on off-road terrain and avoid obstacles.
http://carriedaway.blogs.com/
History Cont.• In 2010, VisLab ran VIAC
(VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge)- 13,000 km test run- 4 driverless vans ended the drive from Italy to China by arriving at Shanghai Expo on October 28
• In 2008, General Motors said they would begin testing driverless cars by 2015 and could be on the road by 2018. http://www.howgreenworks.com/driverless-cars-begin-
8000-mile-journey-from-italy-to-china/italy-driverless-odyssey/
http://www.howgreenworks.com/page/90/
http://selectluxury.wordpress.com/page/2/
Paved Road Autonomous Vehicles
• Google Driverless Car• Euro EUREKA
Prometheus Project• VIAC Challenge• DARPA Grand Challenge• Argo Vehicle • Stanford’s Racing Team’s
car• Volkswagen Golf GTI
53+1
http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/jul/08/soon-a-car-that-drives-on-its-own.htm
http://www.speedace.info/darpa_defense_advanced_research_robotic_vehicles.htm
Free Ranging Autonomous Vehicles• DARPA Grand
Challenge• European Robot
Trial• Israeli Military-
Industrial Complex
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21625291/
Automated Highway System
• Efforts to construct special lanes with magnets to allow vehicles to stay in the center of the lane while communicating with other vehicles
http://www.accelerationwatch.com/articles/undergroundhighwaysystems.html
Free Ranging Grid
• Combination of autonomous vehicles and a supervisory central system- The vehicle locates itself using odometer readings, recalibrating themselves occasionally using a “maze” of magnets embedding in the environment, and GPS-They avoid wrecks using lasers and ultra sonic sensors-Only for commercial use.
http://www.gpsgazette.com/category/automotive-gps/
Sensorial-Informative• Warn or inform drivers about events that
have passed unnoticed such as- Lane Warning system- Rear-view alarm- detect obstacles
behind- Visibility aid for the driver to cover blind
spots and enhanced vision system such as radar, wireless vehicle safety communication, and night vision
- Infrastructure-based, driver warning/ information-giving systems such as those developed by Japanese government
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~gdguo/driving/BlindSpot.htm
http://www.prom.no/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=202_3&products_id=705
Actuation- Corrective• Modify driver’s instruction to
execute them in a more effective way- anti lock brakes- traction control system- four wheel drive- electronic stability control- dynamic steering response
http://www.nissan.com.my/vehicles/xtrail/xtrail/safety/safety2.html
Systemic
• Automatic parking• Following another car• Distance control assistance• Dead man’s switch
http://accessories.bmwusa.com/error.aspx
http://www.sae.org/mags/sve/ELECT/6892
Existing and Missing Technologies
• Understanding immediate environment (Sensors)
Knowing where it is and where it wants to go (Navigation)
• Finding its way in Traffic (Motion Planning)Operating Mechanics of the vehicle
(Actuation)
Short Term Advantages
• Increasing roadway capacity by reducing distance between cars
• Reduce congestion by controlling flow of traffic
• Can do work or rest while driver• No longer need to leave work to do errands• Takes itself to gas station and to get
repaired/serviced
Long Term Advantages
• Longer commutes will be more tolerable.• Cut down on commuter rail ridership• Cut down on costs of bus service• You can just click an app on you Smartphone to get a car to
you immediately• Become a much cheaper way to live in the city without a car
- like owning a car without worrying about parking• Increase safety by reducing driver error• Fewer mechanical problems and breakdowns.• Decrease amount of import oil• Reduce urban greenhouse gas emissions by 80%
Ethical Implications
• Not enough proper training on vehicles for users
• One corporation may control all technology and may not take ethical considerations seriously- Could create monopoly
Bibliography• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdEygVOHE3E• Forrest, Alex. "Autonomous Cars and Society." WPI. N.p., 01/05/2007. Web.
2 Nov 2010. <http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-043007-205701/unrestricted/IQPOVP06B1.pdf>.
• "Driverless Car." Wikipedia. N.p., 31/10/2010. Web. 2 Nov 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driverless_car>.
• Schmidhuber, J. "Robot Cars." idsia. N.p., 2005. Web. 2 Nov 2010. <http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/robotcars.html>.
• Templeton, Brad. "Where Robot Cars Can Really Take Us." Templetons.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov 2010. <http://www.templetons.com/brad/robocars/>.
• Finn, Anthony. Developments and challenges for autonomous unmanned vehicles : a compendium . 1st ed. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 2010. 23-49. Print.
• Smith, Mary. "Driverless Car Technology Through GM." Newsoxy 14 Nov 2010, Print.
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