Driverless Cars in the United States - Essay Example

Driverless Cars Driverless cars Having a driverless car is an event viewed as alien and a lot of innovative technology deployed to make this happen. Carmakers and the stakeholders involved have seen the autonomous car as the only counter method towards the rampant road carnage. The development of these driverless cars is motivated by the urge to create a sustainable world with less fuel consumption and even less emission. Several companies have tested their models of their modification of the autonomous cars in public roads. A move that has speculated a flock of these cars in the market, this is promising since these cars could improve the transport sectors. Google has around 10 of such cars that are currently on tests in various states in the United States. In the UK however, the Oxford University and Nissan have started the same and they could push for the first public sale soon. This and more could be just the introduction of these miracles of cars in the world (Driverless Cars Knight 2014). The pressure to develop driverless cars increased due to the demand for a counter method to curb the unsafe transport methods. The motor industry sells itself as providing the freedom of the open road, but what happens if that is no longer the case, if cars become merely driverless taxis and no one cares about premium, prestige and great design since you can no longer exercise free will in driving (Gingichashvili 2014). Does autonomous driving mean the end of driving? For the moment, the crash-proof car that the technology implies means the industry is being forced down the path of self-driving cars, but one felt a brake being gently applied at Detroit and a new debate being opened (Driverless Cars Knight 2014). Goals of the driverless cars were to reduce accidents, which according to the world health organization over one million people fall victim to automobile accidents annually. These automated vehicles therefore are a better way of reducing the cost mounted on the government by these accidents (Driverless Cars Knight 2014). The Automobile Association in America estimates the cost to roughly three hundred billion dollars. The goal is that this could be immensely reduced with the introduction of these automated cars. Nonetheless, it is a blurred given the numerous challenges in the full implementation of these driverless cars. Licensed drivers will be required to conduct thorough monitoring in case major fails accompany the project. Furthermore, the interaction of these driverless cars with the traditional human driven cars could spur disaster in the highways (Trends Magazine, pg 41). The adjustment of the traditional human handled cars to the trendy driverless models is not an easy task. Much attention is required from the human drivers when interacting with the Autonomous cars. The first generation of the driverless cars will require a driver’s intervention at certain points. This is labeled the most dangerous moment for these sophisticated automobiles. Another potential hazard is that, over time, drivers’ skills will deteriorate. This phenomenon has been seen with pilots. Because they rely heavily on autopilot, pilots are losing some of the skills that they would have gained through experience. In 2011, in fact, the Federal Aviation Administration suggested in a draft report that pilots over-relying on automation might have caused recent crashes (Gingichashvili 2014). To address this issue, companies will need to come up with ways to prevent drivers from losing focus. Carmakers are likely to install software that will monitor drivers and alert them if their attention wanders. Finally, objections have been raised about the appearance of automated cars, which are typically unattractive because of all of the necessary on-board equipment. However, elderly drivers who want to retain their mobility will not demand sleek styling. Moreover, carmakers will devote more attention to aesthetics once they have figured out how to make the cars both functional and affordable (Gingichashvili 2014). Moreover, for higher-end vehicles, where price is less of an issue, styling is already a priority. For example, BMW has replaced the Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system on the roof with two laser scanners and three radar sensors hidden in its front and rear bumpers (Gingichashvili 2014). This means that a human driver of a conventional car that swerves abruptly between lanes or stops unexpectedly will demand that autonomous cars in the vicinity react much more quickly than they will need to respond when all traffic is perfectly coordinated. Autonomous cars will still need human drivers to pay attention and take control of the car if the obstacles get overwhelming. For example, the autonomous cars have a spinning LIDAR mounted on the roofs, which is extremely expensive. The introduction of these cars into the market will require many curb methods for the carmakers (Driverless Cars Knight 2014). The current costs of these vehicles are ridiculously high thus; a specific social class is the target market. Autonomous cars need to do two things to find their way and drive autonomously. The entire map of its surrounding neighborhood including the objects and the voyage path defined in that area, and its comparative position and what it is doing in relation to that defined plan - here defined means that the car "knows" the connotation of the objects in that map (An in Depth Analysis of Autonomous Cars 2012). Of course, the plan we are talking about here and the relative position of the car versus that map is vibrant and being incessantly updated. In order to come up with this map, aself-directed car uses complex sensing devices. Two of the main devices are Radar and Cameras (Gingichashvili 2014). Radar sensors are principally used to sense various obstacles in the proximity of the car. Cameras are currently used for distinguishing the lanes and assistance backing up, but as the image dispensation software gets more developed, the implication of cameras on board will increase. Image-processing software presently can identify traffic signs and lights, lane stripes, and other common objects. Experts have predicted numerous benefits that could increase from the overture of these vehicles. First, the introduction of driverless cars will lessen the number of vehicles on the roads given the aptitude of one car to execute several functions. Secondly, the yield of citizens will amplify too. This is for the reason that the driving will be a lifted burden and these cars may perhaps act as workshops for these individuals (Ferris 2012). Third, the travel time will increase given that the human drivers necessitate rest unlike the autonomous vehicles that function twenty-four hours. This will enormously increase the economic productivity of the state. Nonetheless, several disadvantages accompany this cutting age technology set. Several citizens are bound to lose their jobs due to the creative destruction. Professions like truck drivers, taxi drivers and personal drivers will face the great topple by these self-driven cars. Competition will stir amongst the producers of these cars and this could lead to the production of substandard vehicles (Gingichashvili 2014). Furthermore, the entire traffic system will require transformation to adjust to the autonomous cars. The production costs of these autonomous cars will be relatively high according to experts. Generally, the cost of the merchandise is directly proportional to the cost of the finished product. Therefore, these cars will be quite expensive when finally released out to the public. Currently, technology is so close, as our cars are technologically advanced enough to be able steer themselves. Moreover, the cars can also accelerate and break to sustain a safe driving distance from any cars ahead while detecting and avoid crashes with other cars on all sides. With this much technology advancement, making the cars driverless is only a matter of time (Ferris 2012). As the software and sensing devices evolve, this science fiction fantasy will become reality. The benefits of driverless cars outweigh the benefit of having human drivers because human are almost all the time responsible for accidents, due to their carelessness, emotions, driving after drinking or drug usage, tiredness. Taking out the human factor means, there is almost no human error, which means fewer accidents .In addition, human driving will cause more pollution, since they will not be as efficient as driverless cars due to the variance in speed causes more burning of fuels (Driverless Cars Knight 2014). Driverless means there would be constant speed, which means less fuel consumption. In 2007, the vice president of research for General Motors MR Lawrence predicted that in 2018 the driverless cars anticipate completion and will be available to purchase on the market. In addition, he said in the event that the main thing holding back the production of these driverless cars were not technology based but actually due to bureaucrats and legal issues (Sivaraman et. al., 2013). There is more advantage with Driverless automobiles than the current automobiles. One of the main reasons is that the computers have a significantly faster reaction compared with a human driver. In addition, driverless could work together with other driverless cars, which will significantly reduce traffic causing smooth and faster travelling. This will without a doubt reduce congestion that happens in roads nowadays (Ferris 2012). This means that there is no need for any more road constructions. This reduces he destructions of lands in order to build more therefore be less habitats destructions also countries nature scenery will be left alone (Broggi et. al., 1999). So how does the current version of the driverless cars work? I was wondering the same thing. The most famous driverless car now is the “Google Driverless Car”; Google, by Sebastian Thrun, the co-inventor of Google Street View, created the idea. These driverless automobiles use laser range finders and video cameras, used to detect any traffic (Trends Magazine 2013). Furthermore, they can map the road from one point to another point, in which all the passenger has to do is input their desired destination and the driverless car calculates the route to get to the point. Mr. Tom Jacobs who is a spokesman for the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, has had a chance to ride in the Google car said to the BBC news that "When the car is on self-driving mode, it doesnt speed, it doesnt cut you off, it doesnt tailgate" (Vehicles on Roads By 2019, 2014) Cars that are driverless are called “autonomous vehicle” referring to an automobile that “uses artificial intelligence, has sensors and global positioning system coordinates which assist to drive itself without the need for any human driver or any sort of human operator. One of the key members of the Google driverless cars Mr. Bradley Keyes said, “Google Driverless Cars are better than you while drunk (Driverless Cars Knight 2014). Driverless cars are already greater than an impaired driver is. Soon they will be better than the average driver will. In addition, eventually they will be better than all human drivers will. “ Interestingly, the study pointed out that, down the road, eliminating the driver from vehicles could change the way land space is developed (Ferris 2012). One, because people may be more willing to commute further to work, pushing out suburban sprawl; two, because the considerable space currently tied up for parking in cities could be freed up and used for development if cars could drop off their passenger and go park themselves further away (Driverless Cars Knight 2014). Driverless cars could help people in the society who are unable to drive and need assistance like the elderly, disabled, blind people and children, which is one of the major benefits of driverless car production. This provides to be useful to parents or caretakers, as they do not need to waste money or time to chauffer for them. This means parents do not need to drop them off at school, or pick them up, since it will do it for them. Moreover, it would reduce the amount of spaces needed to park since they would park more efficiently. This means there would be no need for any physical signs or line making for parking areas like the current ones since it will most likely already inputted in the system, as they could communicate with other cars to know where there is space to park. In addition, the car could drop of the passengers closer to where they need to go, due to self-parking (Autos on Autopilot: The Evolution Of The Driverless Car 2014). Despite there being so many positives for driverless cars, there are still important negatives to be considered with these cars. The main reason is that the technology is still in early production stages and cannot yetperform the duties discussed here. In addition we are still unaware how well it will be able to perform these tasks (Driverless Cars Knight 2014).. Moreover, there is still a high probability of human error, as humans are the programmers and makers of this technology. As the saying goes, computers do not make mistakes, programmers do. Driverless cars mean there will be no need for any humans, which will be a disadvantage for taxi drivers and chauffeurs; meaning fewer jobs, especially in this current economic climate, as job as difficult to find. However, some people say believe in the safety of giving an artificial intelligence this much control of something. Even though there will still be humans needed for things like software updating and maintaining (Ferris 2012). Despite this being a great technological breakthrough, the human judgment is still more efficient than Artificial intelligence. These autonomous cars could be of limited error but certain scenarios require proper human intervention. The limited errors these driverless cars make are very dangerous and could be fatal (Ferris 2012). Thus, caution is advised to the stakeholders to make sure proper training and awareness is conducted to counter the shortcomings of these autonomous cars. Furthermore, the worry of computer malice and cyber attacks is still a disadvantage of these autonomous cars. This could lead to collision or even breakdowns creating great inconveniences to the public. Car enthusiasts too will find it hard to drop their passion for driving (Driverless Cars Knight 2014). Driving a car has various levels of importance to some individuals therefore giving up their machines for the autonomous car could be an impossible task or a tall order to them. The economic disaster attached to these autonomous cars cannot be avoided too. The full reliance on GPRS satellites could be hazardous when the signals fail. To conclude, the age of driverless automobiles are undoubtedly nearing us at a rapid rate. There will obviously be people supporting it due to the vast amount of positives about it. There will also be people against it with their own reasons. The main thing I want to know is that if the computer will be better at driving than a human in the near future (Driverless Cars Knight 2014). What is there to stop us creating computer AI that is better or more efficient than humans in other things are e.g. jobs such as doctors or police. References Vehicles on Roads By 2019.Wemotor.com. Web log post.Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.wemotor.com/blog/2009/10/volvo-satre-project-see- autonomous-vehicles-on-roads-by-2019/. Sivaraman, Sayanan and Trivedi, Mohan M. (2013).Looking at Vehicles on the Road: A Survey of Vision-Based Vehicle Detection, Tracking and Behavior Analysis.Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://cvrr.ucsd.edu/LISA/publications.html. An in Depth Analysis of Autonomous Cars.(n.d.).AutonomousCars.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.autonomouscars.com. Broggi, Alberto, Massimo Bertozzi, Alessandra Fascioli, and Gianni Conte. (Spring 1999)Automatic Vehicle Guidance: the Experience of the ARGO Autonomous Vehicle.WorldScientific.com.Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://ftp.utcluj.ro/pub/docs/imaging/Autonomous_driving/Articole%20sortate/ Lazar%20Mircea/AutoDriving2/parma/www.ce.unipr.it/ people/broggi/publications/argo.pdf. Ferris, Brian, Dirk Hahnel, and Dieter Fox.(n.d.).Gaussian Processes for Signal Strength-Based Location Estimation.Roboticsproceddings.org.Retrieved March 16, 2014, fromhttp://www.roboticsproceedings.org/rss02/p39.pdf. Gingichashvili, Sarah. (4 November 2007). DARPAs Urban Challenge 2007. TheFutureofThings.com. [Web log post].Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://thefutureofthings.com/articles/1001/darpas-urban-challenge-2007.html. The Road to Self Driving Cars. (April 2014). Consumer Reports, 79(4).16-20. Trends Magazine. Dec2013, Vol. 10 Issue 12, Autonomous Vehicles: Human Nature Meets AI.p39-43. 5p. Driverless Cars Knight, Will. Technology Review.Nov/Dec2013, Vol. 116 Issue 6, p44-49.6p. 3 Color Photographs. Reading Level (Lexile): 1410. , Database: MasterFILE Premier http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/results?sid=6f45c137-300b-4236-9250-59b14ccdde3f%40sessionmgr4001&vid=1&hid=4111&bquery=autonomous+cars&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPXVybCxjb29raWUsaXAsdWlkJmNsaTA9RlQmY2x2MD1ZJmNsaTE9RlQxJmNsdjE9WSZ0eXBlPTEmc2l0ZT1lZHMtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d Autos On Autopilot: The Evolution Of The Driverless Car. Source:Engineer (Online Edition). 8/5/2013,p10-10. 1p. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/eds/detail?vid=4&sid=0e34f68a-80ea-438f-8a4c-dd3bdc46af4a@sessionmgr4004&hid=4111&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPXVybCxjb29raWUsaXAsdWlkJnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#db=bth&AN=89632294 Read More