Driverless Cars Soon Becoming a Reality


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Imagine owning a car that does all the driving while you sit back and relax. Your fantasy seems to be getting closer to reality, thanks to scientists who are designing such a "self-drive" vehicle. A European team claims to be working on such a fantasy car which can drive itself -- in fact, tests would start next year on such vehicles that "drive themselves" and could be on roads within 10 years, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported. Co-ordinated by a UK company, the European Union project is called Safe Road Trains for the Environment and it involves a "carpooling" roadtrain theory for use on motorways.

The roadtrain would consist of six to eight vehicles whose occupants would be able to relax, read the paper or chat on mobiles while travelling; this'll be possible as their cars would be equipped with a navigation system and a transmitter unit that communicates with the lead vehicle, say scientists. This lead vehicle -- possibly a taxi a bus or a truck -- will drive "normally" and effectively "do the motoring" for the rest of the roadtrain. Drivers approaching their destination will take over control of their own vehicle, leave the convoy by exiting off to the side and then continue on their own to their respective destinations, according to the scientists.

The other vehicles in the roadtrain close the gap and continue on their way until the convoy splits up. The road trains increase safety and reduce environmental impact, thanks to lower fuel consumption compared with the cars being driven individually, the scientists say. The reason is that the cars in the train are close to each other, exploiting the resultant lower air drag. The energy saving is expected to be in the region of 20 per cent. Road capacity will be able to be utilised more efficiently. The Sartre project will be conducted for three years starting in 2011 on test tracks in the UK, Spain and Sweden and eventually on public roads in Spain.

"The Sartre project brings together a unique mix of technologies, skills and expertise from European industry and academia," coordinator Tom Robinson of automotive engineering company Ricardo UK was quoted as saying. "The aim is to encourage the development of safe and environmentally effective roadtrains. By developing and implementing the technology at a vehicle level, Sartre aims to realise the potentially significant safety and environmental benefits of road trains without the need to invest in changes to road infrastructure," he added.

Source - Economictimes
 
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Such things are being tested since long time.Had seen such cars on Discovery years ago.

But the truth is they are still a dream.As in actually seeing them on road carryin people from point A to B is still a dream.

And you can call it a serious NO on Indian roads.
 

Arun

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If cars do the driving, what will you do?
Isn't driving the most fun part of having a car? This will spoil the fun of driving.
 
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This concept has been doing round since early 2000's.

Well i believe, it will be concept for ever!

It can never be a solution under real time scenarios.
 

350Z

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Driverless car concept is already being tested in some nations. But the point is, are such cars even practical for country like ours? How long it will take them to turn into reality and lastly as Arun said, what about the driving pleasure? There are certain questions which still remain unanswered.

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350Z
 
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Driverless car

Autonomos Labs assistant Paul Czerwionka touches a 360 degree laser scanner on top of a car Berlin, Germany. The car is driven by a computer that steers, starts and stops itself.

It can talk, see, drive and no longer needs a human being to control it by remote. The car of the future _ completely computer-controlled _ is on the streets of Berlin.

All summer, researchers from the city's Free University have been testing the automobile around the German capital.

The vehicle maneuvers through traffic on its own using a sophisticated combination of devices, including a computer, electronics and a precision satellite navigation system in the trunk, a camera in the front, and laser scanners on the roof and around the front and rear bumpers.

``The vehicle can recognize other cars on the road, pedestrians, buildings and trees up to 70 meters (yards) around it and even see if the traffic lights ahead are red or green and react accordingly,'' Raul Rojas, the head of the university's research group for artificial intelligence, told reporters at a presentation Friday.

``In fact, the car's recognition and reaction to its environment is much faster than a human being's reaction.''

Driverless car navigates Berlin streets - pictures - Pictures/Videos - News in Pictures | Economic Times
 

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Re: Driverless car

Interesting...

A wild thought: What happens if it is tested on Karve / FC / JM road, Pune. may be, it won't move an inch:lol!:
 
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Re: Driverless car

Going OT, but couldn't help it.

The tech can view people, buildings, lights till 70 yards, but what about animals like cattle, stray dogs. The so-called faster than human computer onboard will have find it tough to make a call then[:)]
 
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Re: Coming Soon: Driverless Cars!

Well even if its going to be successful , the fun part in owning a car is driving it![drive] Who would like to be driven around by a computer??!!
 

350Z

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Re: Driver Less Cars - Now Becoming a Reality Soon!

Google has won the patent for transitioning a mixed-mode vehicle to autonomous mode. (This is a process of transforming a car from normal mode into driver-less mode). Read more below from excerpt taken from World Car Fans.

The potential for the technology is clearly spelled out. "The autonomous vehicle may be used as a virtual tour guide of Millennium Park in Chicago," the patent states. "In the example embodiment, the vehicle may have an instruction to drive to the Cloud Gate (Silver Bean) sculpture at Millennium Park. When the vehicle arrives, the autonomous instruction may tell it to wait in the location for a predetermined amount of time, for example 5 minutes. The instruction may then direct the vehicle to drive to the Crown Fountain at Millennium Park and again wait for 5 minutes. Next, the instruction may tell the vehicle to drive to the Ice Rink at Millennium Park and wait for another predetermined amount of time. Finally, the vehicle instruction may tell the vehicle to return to its starting position."

Google has been testing autonomous vehicles using a fleet of modified Toyota Prius and Audi TT models for the past couple of years. They have completed more than 160,000 miles so far, with more than 1,000 miles of these done in autonomous mode. Despite the development being a well known fact, the search giant had chosen to keep this new patent under wraps until it was finalised.
6909225352139583301.jpg

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
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Volvo Begins Testing Autonomous Cars in Sweden

Volvo has announced that its first self-driving cars are already rolling on the streets of Gothenburg in Sweden.

Drive Me: Volvo Cars Autonomous Driving Project - Alternative Infrastructures - YouTube


Volvo says that the “Drive Me” project, which includes 100 self-driving cars rolling on public roads in everyday driving conditions, is moving forward rapidly.
The test cars are now able to handle lane following, speed adaption and merging traffic all by themselves. This is an important step towards our aim that the final ‘Drive Me’ cars will be able to drive the whole test route in highly autonomous mode,” said Erik Coelingh, Technical Specialist at Volvo Car Group.

“The technology, which will be called Autopilot, enables the driver to hand over the driving to the vehicle, which takes care of all driving functions,”

The “Drive Me” project involves all the key players: legislators, transport authorities, a major city, a vehicle manufacturer and real customers. The customers will “drive” the 100 cars in everyday driving conditions on approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) of selected roads in and around Gothenburg. These roads are typical commuter arteries and include motorway conditions and frequent queues.

“Drive Me” is a joint initiative between Volvo Car Group, the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg, with the Swedish Government endorsing the project.
Volvo Frees 100 Self-Driving Cars into Gothenburg Traffic [w/Video] - Carscoops
 
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Google Unveils Self-driving Car

Google has built a self-driving car from scratch -- a vehicle that has no steering wheel or accelerator or brake pedals.
A demo earlier this month by Google's Self-Driving Car Project team shows how the vehicle depend on a Google-made topographical map to get a sense of what it should expect. The map includes the height of the traffic signals above the street, the placement of stop signs and crosswalks, the depth of the sidewalk curb, the width of the lanes, and can differentiate lane markings from white and dashed to double-yellow.
The company announced major progress last month in improving how the system responds to objects not on a map. In a YouTube video, the web giant demonstrated scenarios like bicyclists signaling to move across a lane of traffic, railroad crossings, and parked cars protruding into the lane of traffic.

A First Drive - YouTube
 

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