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A future in which self-driving vehicles travel our roads is edging closer as automakers introduce an ever-increasing range of innovations to their cars.
Today’s cars are smarter than ever and some are capable of driving by themselves for long stretches, the Globe and Mail reported.
The use of radar, sonar and camera technology has seen cars make great advances in recent years, with even standard models now offering assistance to help drivers stay in their lane, avoid accidents and warn of blind-spot obstacles.
This animation explains how the technology present in today’s cars is paving the way for a future where fully autonomous self-driving cars are a reality.
RUNDOWN SHOWS:
1. Depiction of blind-spot warning; rear cross-traffic alert
2. Depiction of parking assistance; BMW 7 series parking by itself
3. Depiction of active cruise control and warning
4. Depiction of front collision warning for animals and people
5. Depiction of lane-departure warning and assistance
6. Depiction of Tesla autopilot
7. Depiction of traffic jam autopilot in the future
8. Depiction of self-parking in the future
9. Depiction of road full of self-driving cars in the future
VOICEOVER (in English):
“One example of smart car technology is Ford’s blind-spot warning system. Radar sensors in the tail light detect other vehicles in the driver’s blind-spot and trigger a warning light in the side mirrors when it’s unsafe to change lanes.”
“Those radar sensors also detect oncoming vehicles when the vehicle is backing out of a parking spot.”
“Other parking assistants already on the market include a feature in several Ford models that tells the driver when to hit the accelerator or brake.”
“Meanwhile, some BMW drivers can already park their cars by pushing a button on a key fob.”
“Today’s cars use radar, sonar, cameras, or a combination of all three for active cruise control.”
“This feature allows car to drive autonomously at a fixed speed or at the speed of the vehicle in front, slowing down and speeding up automatically.”
“However, the vehicle will emit a warning if the driver needs to take evasive action.”
“The technology preps the brakes and will even brake automatically if the driver doesn’t react in time.”
“Some Mercedes cars can tell the difference between a four-legged and a two-legged obstacle and will brake harder for people.”
“Cameras in today’s cars are used to detect lane markings and warn drivers to stay in their lane.”
“This is designed to help tired drivers, but in practice often applies to those who are texting on their cellphones.”
“If lane warnings aren’t heeded, this technology can steer the car back into the correct lane by hitting the brakes or turning the steering wheel.”
“Tesla’s electric cars are already capable of driving on autopilot and changing lanes without the driver’s input.”
“In the near future we should expect to see traffic-jam autopilot, which will allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel in heavy traffic and let the car do the work.”
“Looking further ahead, automakers are working on autonomous valet parking, which will see cars drop passengers off …
“… find their own parking space, then pick the passengers up when summoned by smartphone.”
“However, we are still some time away from when every vehicle on the road is an autonomous one.”
SOURCES: Globe and Mail, Tesla, BMW, Ford
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/helping-hands-the-first-steps-toward-driverless-vehicles/article32641588/
https://www.tesla.com/presskit/autopilot
https://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/technology/technology_guide/articles/active_cruise_control.html
https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2014/09/24/10-awesome-f-150-driver-assist-features.html
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Post time: Jan-14-2017