EMERGING TeCh Chapter 1 No Driver Needed I magine zooming down the road in a car with no one driving Everyone inside is relaxing and hang ing out while the car does all the work No this isn’t something from a science-fiction movie It is the world of self-driving cars a rapidly growing area of tech nology A self-driving car is an automobile that can operate with little to no help from a human driver It is also sometimes called a driverless car or autonomous A Mercedes-Benz F 015 driverless concept car is displayed at a 2015 car show 44
In most modern cars drivers must manually control many of the vehicle’s actions vehicle Many experts predict that these incredible cars will be widely available to the public within the next few decades In fact most cars available today are already partially autonomous The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration organizes all automobiles into five different levels of autonomy Level Zero describes cars that are completely driven by humans The driver is responsible for all workings of the car such as brak ing steering and gear-shifting Only very old cars fall into this category 5
EMERGING TeCh Old Idea New Technology Believe it or not the idea for self-driving cars is hundreds of years old Around 1478 inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci sketched an idea for a self-propelled cart that was able to move without being pushed The cart measured 5 5 feet 1 7 meters long and nearly 5 feet 1 5 m wide It worked by lifting a brake that released a coiled spring This propelled the cart forward about 130 feet 39 6 m Da Vinci never actually built a model of his design However in 2004 engineers in Florence Italy built the driverless cart by following his instructions They discovered that it worked just as da Vinci had planned All new cars in the United States are at least Level One vehicles Level One involves some kind of automation This can be something like electronic stability control ESC ESC helps prevent cars from skidding It is required on all new cars in the United States Antilock brake systems ABS are another common type of automated technology ABS applies pressure to a car’s brakes in a way that keeps the car from spinning out of control When at least two automated systems are com bined a car falls into the Level Two category For example some cars combine adaptive cruise con trol with lane centering technology Adaptive cruise control helps a car adjust its speed to keep enough 6
distance from the car in front of it Lane centering helps keep the vehicle from shifting unexpectedly into other lanes There are some Level Two automobiles on the road today They tend to be high-end luxury vehicles Level Three cars can mostly drive on their own However a human must be ready to take the wheel if necessary The driver has the ability to override the automated operations and take control of steering braking or accelerating There are a few Level Three cars being tested on the road today Level Four indicates a completely driverless car A human sets the destination and the vehicle performs all the driving functions for an entire trip Vehicles at this level may not even have passengers Imagine a car zipping around without anyone inside These cars are being tested right now but it will be awhile before the public is able to experience them Self-driving cars are equipped with sensors computer programs and other components These help the car navigate roads and avoid obstacles Artificial intelligence AI software imitates a human driver allowing the car to make decisions about things like steering and braking 7 Self-Driving CarS
