An autonomous car (also known as a car without driver, car, auto-driving car, robotic car) is a vehicle that is able to detect its environment and navigate without human input. Many of these vehicles are being developed, but as of May 2017 automatic cars allowed on public roads are not yet fully self-contained. They all require a human driver at the wheel who is ready at a moment's notice to take control of the vehicle.
Freelancers use a variety of techniques to detect their environment, such as radar, laser light, GPS, odometry and computer vision. Advanced control systems interpret sensory information to identify appropriate navigation routes, as well as obstacles and relevant signage. Autonomous cars have control systems that are able to analyze sensory data to distinguish between different cars on the road, which is very useful in planning a path to the desired destination.
Some demonstration systems, precursors of autonomous cars, date back to the 1920s and 1930s. The first self-sufficient (and therefore truly autonomous) automobiles appeared in the 1980s with the Navlab and ALV projects of Carnegie Mellon University in 1984 and the Eureka Prometheus Project in Munich by Mercedes-Benz and the Federal University of Germany in 1987. An important milestone was achieved in 1995, with NavLab 5 of CMU completing the first autonomous coast-to-coast unit of the United States. Of the 2,849 miles between Pittsburgh, PA and San Diego, CA, 2,797 miles were autonomous (98.2%), completed with an average speed of 102.3 km / h (63.8 miles per hour). Since then, numerous major companies and research organizations have developed prototypes of autonomous vehicle work.
Among the potential benefits of self-employed cars is a significant reduction in traffic collisions; The resulting lesions; And related costs, including a lower need for insurance. It is also envisaged that autonomous cars will offer significant increases in traffic flow; Improving the mobility of children, the elderly, the disabled and the poor; The relief of travelers from driving and navigation tasks; Lower fuel consumption; Significantly reduced parking space needs in cities; A reduction of delinquency; And facilitating different business models for mobility as a service, especially those involved in the shared economy.
Among the main obstacles to the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles, in addition to the technological challenges, are conflicts of responsibility; The period of time necessary to convert an existing stock of vehicles from non-self-employed to self-employed; Resistance of individuals to losing control of their cars; The consumer's concern for the safety of cars without drivers; The implementation of a legal framework and the establishment of government regulations for self-directed automobiles; Risk of loss of privacy and security concerns, such as hackers or terrorism; Concerns about the consequent loss of jobs related to driving in the road transport industry; And the risk of suburbanization increases as driving becomes faster and less costly without adequate public policies in place to prevent further urban sprawl. Many of these issues are due to the fact that stand-alone things, such as stand-alone vehicles (and self-navigational drones) are allowing, for the first time, computers to move freely, with all security and security.