The most famous driverless cars
in the world belong to Google. Since 2009, its experiments have clocked
more than 750,000 miles on California roads with neither a driver nor
an accident. But Google’s cars aren’t alone. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Navlab built their first experimental autonomous vehicle back in 1984. In 2010, a semi-autonomous van built by researchers at the University of Parma drove from Italy to Shanghai and back,
a round trip of more than 8,000 miles.
Much of the technology invented
for these cars, like adaptive cruise control that applies the brakes
when it detects slow traffic ahead, has found its way into mainstream
vehicles. The benefit is clear: In normal driving conditions, a car with
cameras, radar, and sophisticated software is probably a better driver than you are.
And it might be better at some
driving tasks you don’t like. Companies like Audi, BMW, Ford, and Lexus
offer vehicles that can park themselves. The 2014 Mercedes S-Class sedan
can negotiate stop-and-go traffic with no driver input. In 2017,
General Motors plans to introduce a line of Cadillacs with “Super
Cruise” control that will enable drivers to merge onto a freeway, and
then let go of the wheel and let the car steer itself, says John Capp,
director of electrical and active safety R&D. Tesla’s Model D sedan will incorporate similar features. In three years, Volvo plans to have 100 such cars on the streets of Gothenburg, Sweden.
All those vehicles are still semi-autonomous. They
need a human to sit behind the wheel and take control for much of the
time. Within a decade or two, though, fully autonomous cars — without
steering wheels, accelerators or brake pedals — will begin to appear.
Ndi ocha,i can't wait to see such cars operate in Nigeria...But if it get to lagos-ibadan express way....something must happen
technology
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