Driverless Vehicles, Self-Driven Cars, Autonomous Cars whatever you call them, they are going to be the our future. There are many on the roads on evaluation as well as on live run but soon, we will also be one to take a ride in a Driverless Vehicle on the road.
Recently Khaleej Times published a news that says “Dubai to become first city outside US to operate driverless vehicles”. The plan is to have the first few self-driving vehicles by 2023, which will go up to 4,000 by 2030.
What is the technology behind? How is it possible to control a car on its own? Let us look into some basics. An Autonomous Car is a vehicle which is capable of sensing its environment and operating without human involvement. So, it is evident that Artificial Intelligence is behind the technology. An Autonomous or Driverless Car can go anywhere, where a conventional car can go and do everything that an experienced human driver can do.
The Technology behind
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) defines six levels of Driving Automation. It ranges from 0 to 5 where Level 0 is Fully Manual and Level 5 is Fully Automated. These levels have been adopted by the U.S Department of Transportation.
The Autonomous or Driverless Cars work solely on Sensors, Actuators, Machine Learning Systems, Complex Algorithms and Powerful Processors (Computers) to execute the Software. Different Sensors are fixed in different parts of the vehicle with which they can maintain a map of their surroundings. These Radar Sensors monitor the position of nearby objects and vehicles. There are Video Cameras that detect Traffic Lights, read Road Signs, track other Vehicles and also look for Pedestrians.
The LIDAR Technology (Light Detection and Ranging) employs Sensors that bounce pulses of light off the Car’s surroundings. They measure distances, edges of the road and identify line markings. Ultrasonic Sensors in the wheels detect Curbs and other Vehicles while Parking.
Sophisticated Software processes various inputs captured by the Sensors and plots a Path. The Actuators of the Car are fed with instructions by the Software which control Acceleration, Braking and Steering. The Hard-Coded Rules, Obstacle Avoidance Algorithms, Predictive Modeling and Object Recognition are used by the Autonomous Cars. They help the Software in following Traffic Rules and Navigate Obstacles.
Source of Information: Synopsis.Com
Disclaimer: Information reproduced only for public awareness
