The development of autonomous cars will make it possible to achieve many important goals - saving human lives (preventing accidents and identifying dangers, clearing the road immediately for ambulances), preventing traffic jams and disorder, reducing air pollution and eliminating the need to find parking
By: Oren Urieli
Today we no longer have to be satisfied with wild estimates regarding the transportation of the future. Why? Mainly because the future transportation industry is taking shape right before our eyes. And not only is she amazing, she will also change human society and daily routine beyond recognition. That's right.
Who among us is not already familiar with the autonomous cars - driverless independent cars that were developed inspired by the pilotless airplane and are actually intended to save you the act of driving, as an integral part of the worldwide trend to simplify life for us and free up our time for more enjoyable and effective activities. Driving is a task that can oppress us quite a bit - in traffic for example, or if we are particularly tired, or if we drank alcohol, or we just don't feel like it right now. There is no shortage of reasons not to drive, but there are also reasons to develop autonomous vehicles. This is the reason why not only the reputable car manufacturers are diligently working on the development of autonomous cars, but also technology giants such as Google or Apple are working very vigorously in this field, with a future view that this is one of the most promising markets in the global economy. It's not for nothing that the giant companies from Silicon Valley are trying to shake up the futuristic automobile industry, because whoever thought that this technology is light years away from us, think again - within the next ten years we will already see autonomous cars on the road, and that's a fact.
****Official video of Google's car project
The technology of the future walks hand in hand with the future generation. It is difficult for many of us to grasp how a driverless car will fit into the busy roads and how the human instinct that makes life-saving decisions in real time can be given up altogether. Those in favor of autonomous cars will argue that the same instinct also leads to accidents and therefore nothing should be left to chance. In any case, just as generation after generation gets used to the technology that accompanies the course of its life, so will future generations get used to driving in a car without a driver without even having to raise their heads in fear.
The car is a computer
"We don't know yet when we will be able to purchase autonomous cars, but it is clear at the moment that most of us will see these cars on the road in our lifetime," says Marco Catalonia, VP of Information Systems At the Alber company, which provides advice on the purchase of a new car which provides advice for the purchase of a new car. For those who don't know, the autonomous car is designed for robotic use without human contact for many important purposes - saving human lives (preventing accidents and identifying dangers, clearing the road immediately for ambulances), preventing traffic jams and disorder, reducing air pollution and eliminating the need to find parking because the vehicle can simply drop us off directly at the destination and look for parking himself. In other words - the autonomous car will free us from this hassle called driving and will significantly reduce the waste of time involved. The autonomous vehicles are built from software and hardware components, equipped with navigation means, increased computing power, sensors that measure distance using a laser beam (LIDAR) and more. The idea of the autonomous car first appeared in a science fiction magazine in the 30s of the last century, and believe it or not, already in the 80s an autonomous car and bus were developed by a group of university students in the USA. The most significant breakthrough has occurred in the last ten years and in 2008 it was Volkswagen that introduced for the first time an autonomous vehicle that knew how to recognize a stop sign and slow down to a complete stop in front of it.
Since then it seems that almost all the reputable car manufacturers are engaged in a small arms race with a clear understanding that the future holds roads full of autonomous cars that communicate with each other and create a kind of transportation network devoid of human instincts. For example, in 2010 Google already introduced a fleet of autonomous cars that demonstrated the ability to obey all traffic laws, traffic signs and traffic lights. BMW and Toyota are also significant players in the field of autonomous vehicles and have already introduced internet-based vehicles and remote sensing. Google wants to market its vehicles to the public as early as 2017, Tesla plans to release its spectacular vehicle two years later and car manufacturers such as Audi, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes and Renault have announced 2020 as a target date. Now, the technology does exist, but there are quite a few procedural problems and legal and technical difficulties before these cars hit the road. One of the interesting questions relates to the status of the future car - if it is no longer a car but a computer, should we impose as many restrictions and regulations on it as we do today? And if the car is actually a computer, how will it be possible to prevent global cyber terrorism which might, let's say, lead to a sudden acceleration of all the cars at once? If the car is used to transport a population of any kind without the need for a driver in the car, will there be a future need for a driver's license or a license to transport children? Not sure. In addition, traffic laws in most countries currently prohibit vehicles from entering the road without a steering wheel, pedals or mirrors, and these are obviously not necessary at all in autonomous cars. It is important to note that the ability of most vehicles to function in particularly difficult weather conditions (such as a storm), which require human experience and specific safety rules, has not yet been tested. The matter of legal responsibility in case of injury to a pedestrian or another car has not been settled and there are many other examples that need to be found solutions. Whatever it is, today there is no doubt that technology is bringing us to a new era of autonomous transportation, and the rest of the world, with its laws, customs and limitations, will have to adapt to this.
When that happens, the world will be a very different place. Today, around 1.2 million people die every year in car accidents worldwide. Over 90% of these accidents are caused by human error. These data will drop significantly as soon as the era of human drivers who drive drunk, stressed, in a hurry, whose mind is constantly on their cell phones or who find it extremely important to check how the new haircut turned out at exactly the most inopportune moment ends - the roads will be populated by autonomous cars that will know how to drive at regular intervals between them, will communicate with each other among themselves to enable smooth and fluid vehicle traffic, prevent traffic jams and lead to new records of speed and efficiency in global transportation.
However, some experts believe that autonomous cars are still many years away from us, mainly because the human ability is not developed enough to integrate well with the surrounding technological world. Some argue that the transition from manual driving to completely independent driving of the vehicle is difficult to do due to the degree of judgment, the sharpness of thought and the calculated gradualness required in the transition from rest to driving. Another significant main claim holds that the technology is terribly expensive and there is still no real way to minimize its components - the laser sensors, the precise GPS, the updating of the digital maps and the load of information they require. Of course, there will always be the claim that there is no adequate technical replacement for the human drivers. is that so? time will tell.
***Simulation video of Mercedes' autonomous car in the city of the future
Cars are just one example of futuristic transportation from the year of reality. Take trains for example. We already know the bullet trains that fly in places like Japan at a speed of 200 km/h and more. The high-speed rail industry, like the autonomous vehicle industry, is in its infancy - and the key is speed and safety. Most of the attention is directed to the Maglev train technology (magnetic levitation), which is expected to achieve speeds of 350 miles per hour (!) and more by perfecting the train's ability to float on magnetic sleepers and eliminating the element of friction completely. Much like an ice hockey puck, if you will. A small example of the amazing human ingenuity can be found in the solution found to the problem of the speed of the train in curves - the fast trains not only do not slow down in curves, but even accelerate, taking advantage of applicable physical laws to obtain additional speed in the curve and obtain an even better grip on the sleepers. In any case, it is an impressive technology, cheaper and greener but above all incredibly safe, and the ability to perfect it will bring the trains to give a very serious competition to the aviation industry. Another technology in the field of passenger transportation is the Hyperloop, which is exciting. This is a technology that will allow the transportation of passengers in steel tubes at a speed that will reach 1300 km/h, which is already twice the speed (!) of an airplane. A low-pressure environment is created inside the tube, similar to today's airplanes, and the key will be movement without any resistance in the vacuum and, accordingly, minimal use of energy. Sound distant and imaginary? Well, not really. The company that is working on this is already working on an experimental track in California and plans to present an applied model in the coming years. Amazing.
So what does the future hold for us? It is impossible to remain indifferent to the technological possibilities in the field of transportation. The cars will be driverless, the trains will reach the speed of airplanes and the change in our lives will be significant. But it doesn't end there. Technologies such as these will shake up world orders and change the face of the economy as well as every other area of our lives. Take for example the fateful impact on car manufacturers, on professions such as taxi drivers or mechanics, licensing offices, car accessory industries, gas stations or car insurance - and the enormous implications inherent in the change that will apply to them. If today we have to buy ourselves a new or used car every few years, in the future there may not be a need for a private or personal car. Think about it - why do you need private ownership of vehicles in a world where there are independent vehicles that never rest for a moment and all that is required of you is to order a robotic car to drive you wherever you want, wherever and for whatever purpose, at record speed. You should get used to the idea.
