15 ways that self-driving cars could transform our lives. On Tuesday, Google unveiled a stunning new prototype for a self-driving car. There's no steering wheel. No pedals. You just sit back and let the car do the driving. Self-driving cars could have major benefits — and big downsides Now, before anyone gets too excited, note that self-driving cars are still a ways off from reality, especially given all the legal and regulatory hurdles they face.
But why not dream a bit? Boosters often claim that the technology will have massive benefits for everyone: traffic jams will become a rarity, deadly crashes will drop dramatically, commuting will become far less stressful. Maybe so. 9 ways that self-driving cars could be a boon to humanity No more of this nonsense, for starters. Here are some of the possible benefits of self-driving cars — some culled from various reports, some a bit more speculative: 1) Self-driving cars would save lives: This is the most obvious one. Commuting could become quicker and far less miserable Their rough estimate? Nissan Wants Self-Driving to Be a £650 Car Upgrade by 2020. A Sneak Peek Inside Google's Self-Driving Car. Have you ever wondered what Google's self-driving car sees? Mashable caught an insightful blog post from Idealab's Bill Gross that gives a sneak peek into how the company's intriguing robotic cars make their driving decisions.
In short: the car "sees" it all by being spectacularly meticulous. "It is capturing every single thing that it sees moving - cars, trucks, birds, rolling balls, dropped cigarette butts, and fusing all that together to make its decisions while driving," Gross writes. "If it sees a cigarette butt, it knows a person might be creeping out from between cars. " According to USA Today, every car in Google's fleet is equipped with a $70,000 lidar (laser radar) system, which explains the radiating information scans and the intriguing colors from the picture Gross posted.
What do you think of Google's driverless car? Speeding into the Future: Self-Driving Cars Are Now Legal in California. In California, the sun-baked state where gridlocked freeways seem like the rule more than the exception, a future-thinking invention could halt the chronic traffic and cure a host of other auto-related ills. Yes, self-driving cars are now legal in the Golden State. On Tuesday, during a visit to Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation to allow autonomous vehicles to operate on the state’s roads. In a press release, Brown deemed the signing of the bill as “turning today’s science fiction into tomorrow’s reality.”
The state is the third in the U.S. to legalize self-driving cars, following Nevada and Florida who passed similar laws earlier this year. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be lounging in the backseat watching Netflix while Google does all the navigating — yet, at least. (MORE: Google’s Driverless Cars Now Officially Licensed in Nevada) Brown also laid out some regulatory ground rules. The details sound earth-shattering, sure. Nevada Passes Law Authorizing Driverless Cars. Autonomous Vehicle Law Passes In Nevada: Driverless Cars Could Hit The Road In 2012.
Nevada just passed a law that could let self-driving cars on the road as soon as March 1, 2012. The new legislation directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to "adopt regulations authorizing the operation of autonomous vehicles on highways within the State of Nevada. " According to the law, an "autonomous vehicle" is one that uses "artificial intelligence, sensors and global positioning system coordinates to drive itself without the active intervention of a human operator. " The law asks the DMV to create a driver's license endorsement for such vehicles. Self-driving cars have been tested by Google, and recently, by Volkswagen.
The autonomous VW uses a "Temporary Autopilot" program that can control the car using a radar system, laser scanner and ultrasonic sensors to determine its position in relation to other cars, to slow down near curves in the road, and more. [via Geek.com] Google's Self Driving Car Gathers Nearly 1 GB/Sec. Google's Self Driving Car Gathers Nearly 1 GB/Sec. Eric Schmidt: Google Self-Driving Cars Should Become The Predominant Mode Of Transport In Our Lifetime. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt offered some new insight into Google’s self-driving car program today at his annual press talk at Allen and Co.’s Sun Valley conference.
Schmidt revealed that Google had talked to “all” of the auto-manufacturers globally about the cars, which he called “not yet ready for productization,” facing challenges including getting individual states to approve it (Nevada is the only one currently). “The current biggest problem is that it runs at the speed limit and nobody drives at the speed limit,” Schmidt said. Apparently Google has prototypes that don’t run at the speed limit however; as Schmidt revealed that Google had a racecourse in an undisclosed location, where the car would race human-driven cars, and win. Schmidt also went into how exactly the car worked, saying that a consumer will eventually type an address in what he called “Google maps on steroids.” Image via: Zack Sheppard. X PRIZE Foundation: Can high speed rail compete with self-driven cars, improved airlines and all the technology of the future? By Brad TempletonDirector of the Electonic Frontier Foundation, and Chair of the Networks and Computing Systems Track at Singularity University.
There's been much debate in the USA about High Speed Rail (HSR) and most notably the giant project aimed at moving 20 to 24 million passengers a year through the California central valley, and in particular from downtown LA to downtown San Francisco in 2 hours 40 minutes. There's been big debate about the projected cost ($68B to $99B) and the inability of projected revenues to cover interest on the capital let alone operating costs. The project is beginning with a 130 mile segment in the central valley to make use of federal funds.
This could be a "rail to nowhere" connecting no big towns and with no trains on it. By 2028 they plan to finally connect SF and LA. The debate about the merits of this train is extensive and interesting, but its biggest flaw is that it is rooted in the technology of the past and present day. Self Driving Cars Sprawl. X PRIZE Foundation: Can high speed rail compete with self-driven cars, improved airlines and all the technology of the future? Joseph F. Coughlin: Will Robot Cars Get Stuck in Policy Traffic? Robotic or autonomous vehicles use a combination of computer vision, radar, GPS, and LIDAR to navigate the road and traffic. Many of these technologies are already being integrated into today's vehicles. If you recently purchased a new car, chances are it contains "active safety" systems that actively detect and mitigate a possible accident.
For example, your car's brakes may pre-pressurize to reduce the crash severity if sensors detect an imminent crash you will be unable to avoid. Beyond safety, elements of autonomous systems offer convenience. If your car has an auto-park system, you can take your hands from the wheel and let your vehicle automatically park in that tight but precious parking spot on a busy city street. While robot cars have always been a rich source of material for science fiction (remember Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall jumping into a robotic Johnny Cab?) , autonomous vehicles have been in books and research labs for several decades. Fasten Your Seatbelts: Google's Driverless Car Is Worth Trillions (Part 1) Will Google Kill The Auto Industry? No, And Here's Why.