Technology as for today has improved so far by exploring opportunities and improving science. The road to embedding tech in our daily lives is widening and technologists are trying to make the world a better and a safe place by implying the best. Though perspectives differ broadly on certain developments, the end result proves it to be worthy and a must for mankind. One such development that grabbed a lot of attention and raised numerous questions was “Self-driving cars”.
The idea of letting cars drive by themselves seemed to be panicking at first, but the progressive development & positive results catapulted its further development. The world is about to experience completely autonomous driving in a very short span of time. So, what is behind these vehicles that makes it completely independent? Let’s look!
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Sensors to Locate, Map & Avoid Obstacles
These sensors act as the eyes and ears of the vehicle. LIDAR (Laser Illuminating Detection and Ranging) is used to detect possible hazard around the surfaces of the car by sending off laser beams. With the time taken by the laser beam to travel back and forth, the distance of the object is calculated. The two front and rear bumpers avoid the collision by sending accurate signals to the central system of the vehicle. Accompanied by gyroscopes, inertial measurement units etc.., it gives the perfect signals to prevent any kind of mishaps. Google makes use of its map system to determine the speed, position, to process real-world data to narrow down the vehicle to centimeters.
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A Software that Could Learn on its Own
The software is capable of learning on its own by processing real-time data and by observing activities of other drivers on the road. Every time the car is on the street, it records and stores data. Though some primary data like halting at a red signal, lane switching is already fed, the software has to learn more behavioral patterns to be a humanly driven vehicle.
The above is just a glimpse of the complex tech mechanism which is being used. Self-driving cars are tested and allowed only in the states of U.S. as of now. Many believe that completely autonomous vehicles are the future of transportation. Some may deny this fact, but it is about to happen much sooner than we think.
Every tech’s prototype has its own unsolved issues before reaching its final phase and later proves to be a brilliant invention. The idea of driverless cars will turn out to be safer & revolutionary in the near future!