Self-Driving Car Technology
A driverless car or self-driving car is possibly the greatest technological advance of the auto industry to date. However, there are only a few cars that currently have these capabilities and even these are still under testing. One of these amazing vehicles is an Audi SQ5 SUV, which has been set up to handle this daunting task. This particular car is also attempting to reach New York from San Francisco by April 3rd, 2015. This is the longest attempted automated drive so far in the USA, and in North America.
The technology that is used to make this happen has been seen in little hints here and there with certain upgraded features like parking assist in current cars, but this is a whole new spectrum of functionality. The ultimate goal for this type of car is that it would eventually take over the whole market and everyone would have one. As far as the US Department of Transportation is concerned, it would actually save a lot of lives and prevent many accidents from occurring.
The way that this state-of-the-art technology works is complex, but not hard to understand. There are several systems that are put into the car that allow it to sense its surroundings, “see” traffic lights and pedestrians, and even sense where the curb is when parking, as well as its relation to other cars. This is achieved through video cameras, radar, and a combination of Lidar and Ultrasonic sensors that are placed strategically around the car.
The idea of the driverless car becoming widespread, based on current projections, could be very near indeed. Due to the cost of the technology in these cars constantly decreasing, it could very well be within the realm of possibility for driverless cars to be in production within the next decade or so, and for everyone to own one within the next few decades after that.
Where other motorists are concerned, the main issue is quite apparent. What happens if there is an emergency and there is no steering wheel or brake to be able to manually control the car? That is a question that is currently being answered through the many tests that are being performed on these driverless vehicles.
Delphi Automotive is the company currently responsible for the Audi SQ5 SUV that is driving on the roads at the moment. They are taking the car on a trip from San Francisco, California, to New York City, New York. The purpose for this is to understand how well the technology actually works and to see how viable of an option it really is for drivers to consider using it. There are also two engineers that are in the car to help prevent any emergency situations from arising. Delphi Automotive has made sure that the engineers have a way to drive the car manually should such circumstances arise.
The hope for the driverless car is that ultimately, it will be capable of lowering accident rates in the USA, minimizing gas emissions, and also helping to ease traffic congestion. With these fantastic cars in our near future, the way we view and experience driving could change forever.
