Robot Cars in Our Future
October 13, 2005 Ken Drummond
The
recent successful trial of autonomous vehicles in the Mojave Desert is
a major step toward cars that we no longer have to drive.
Automatic
vehicles have been talked about for so long that people have given up
thinking much about them. Since they have not manifested in all this
time, we have assumed that they are too difficult to bring about.
Now
all that has changed! Autonomous vehicles really have been created, and
they have been tested under the most rigorous circumstances - in the
open desert in Nevada. Traversing open stretches of desert, dry
lakebeds, winding mountain roads, tunnels where no GPS signals can
reach, and various natural and man-created obstacles, four vehicles
were able to navigate the challenging course in less than ten hours.
The
vehicles were able to detect obstacles such as large boulders and
bushes, and navigate around them where necessary. The winding mountain
pass, ten feet wide in places, had a steep drop-off on one side. Once
set free at the starting line, the vehicles were completely on their
own for some 130 miles. And they had no advance knowledge of the course
they were to travel.
Can vehicles such as these navigate among
traffic and pedestrians? Can they replace human operators in day-to-day
commuting? How close we are to that point remains to be seen. But we
have made a major step forward, and I believe we have broken the ice in
getting self-controlling automobiles off the runway, so to speak.
Imagine
what it will be like when you can just step into your car, or order up
a vehicle from the neighborhood vehicle pool. The car will drive up to
your door, perhaps beeping softly to let you know that it is ready for
you. The door will open as you approach, so that you won’t have to set
down any bags or packages that you are carrying before entering.
You
will speak or key in your destination. If it is a community vehicle
maybe you will insert your charge card, or be identified by your
thumbprint. Then off you will go toward your destination. You can sit
back and relax, read a book, listen to the radio or watch a video. The
car will take care of all the navigation.
If it is connected
in with a coordinating computer, it will be able to select the most
efficient route, planning the best way to merge into traffic, choosing
highways with less traffic.
For the elderly and those not yet old
enough to drive, intelligent vehicles will open up a world of
possibilities. If incapacitating health problems should arise, your
vehicle will be able to take you to a care facility. It is likely the
roads will be safer because the computerized system can plan ahead to
avoid traffic problems, minimizing any chance of accidents.
Is
this science that is close to becoming reality? Or is it just science
fiction, real or imagined ideas of some still far off future? If you
talk to the creators of the vehicles that competed in the DARPA
competition for autonomous vehicles you will get a very optimistic
response. The creators of those vehicles are ecstatic with their
accomplishments, comparing the successful trials with the Wright
Brothers’ first flight. To hear then talk you would think that
self-guided vehicles on our highways are just a few years away. In
fact, that is what they are saying and it appears that may be the case.
So happy motoring - while you still have to do the driving.