Driverless Cars: How Are Such Inventions Engineered and Calibrated?

Self Driving Cars  

It will be possible in the near future for a person to work on the computer, send texts and talk on the phone while driving to work. This won't happen because a person is on a bus or being driven by a driving service. It will occur because people will be able to use driverless cars.

Self driving cars are on the verge of becoming a reality. This development will lead to transportation methods we have not dealt with in many new ways. For example, it is anticipated individuals will be able to get out and use their smartphone to send their driverless car to park itself and then come back and pick them up later.

Engineering

Driverless cars are able to function because they are designed to react to what is around them using a variety of different technologies. This includes GPS, camera-enabled computer vision, odometry as well as lidar and more. LIDAR is the combination of laser and radar. It measures the distance of an object by pointing a laser beam onto an object and using the return signal to determine distance. Odometry is collecting data from motion sensors. This enables vehicles to estimate an object's position. Computer vision makes visual images into descriptions. This data can interact with other elements of the driverless vehicle to cause necessary actions.

Related articles

• How AI Could Speed Up the Race to Self-Driving Cars 
• Five Possible Benefits that This Technology Could Hold 
• The Most Innovative Technologies that Will Shape the Future of Driving 

Calibration

One of the challenges for the successful development of a driverless vehicle is its calibration. This is a way to make certain all systems in a driverless vehicle are working together. Sensors associated with laser beams currently take quite a bit of work to properly calibrate with a driverless vehicle’s other systems. Calibrations are currently done manually. New equipment and programs are being designed to develop a uniform calibration systems for mechanics. In the future, they will be repairing a self-driving vehicle.

Driverless Cars and Semi Trucks

The technology necessary to make driverless cars and semi-trucks possible is currently available and being developed. Lyft flash as well as Google are making their driverless car schemes become a reality in Pittsburgh. There is a driverless semi-truck called, “Freightliner Inspiration” currently in development. It is able to operate driverless until the semi-truck identifies something it isn't programmed to handle. It then notifies the driver they should take control.

Legal Issues

Everyone involved with the development of driverless vehicles accepts they will crash. This will affect the legal and insurance industries. It's a new technology that will cause new product liability issues to occur. Many states do not currently have laws addressing driverless vehicles. Technological safety requirements, insurance, law, data security and more will eventually need to be addressed by state governments.

The time when driverless vehicles will be common is fast approaching. It will create new transportation methods for individuals who are handicapped or unable to drive. This emerging technology will also change how society thinks of driving and transportation.

By  Rachelle Wilber	Embed