We have all seen self-driving cars with an amazing design in some science-fiction movies. Today, some companies are introducing us with their prototypes of automotive vehicles. With the development of technology and with the help of an Artificial Intelligence(AI), it is possible for us to expect innovations in every field of production.
With this kind of progression, it is natural to expect for all these prototypes to be in mass production in the near future. We can assume that all vehicles will have a self-drive option, or maybe some portable office that could drive us from place to place. Also, buying stuff would be much easier, since we would get all the groceries with the assist from automated cars, drones, or robots.
Furthermore, with the advance of vehicles, designers also must find a way to develop security, especially because these modern cars won’t need a driver. Also, the laws about driving will have to go in that way. We would have to create some new standards for roads and everything around them.
Safety Measurements
When we speak about the vehicles, safety measurements apply to all the advancements for better security of them during the drive. Some of those technological developments are Disk Brakes, ABS, Cooling System, Less Flammable Materials, Airbags, Electronic Suspensions, and many more. These features help the driver to be more confident when driving, and in case of crash or some other unpleasant situation, they give us more chance to stay unharmed.
Most of these advancements in vehicle technology come from cars that are produced primarily for racing. The main reason for that is a greater need for security while driving at a higher speed. Today, we have cars with six air-bags, with cameras that could see any angle of your vehicle for less stressful parking, and also, with the help of a computer system, we have advanced traction control.
Special Measures for Self-Driving Cars
For Autonomous vehicles, the definition of safety is a lot different, since we have to put into consideration a lot more than with usual cars. First of all, we have to be sure that the vehicle has working sensors and a GPS system. These two parameters are essential because they provide the car with the ability to know where to drive, how fast it could drive, and know when it should stop.There are no statistics yet that are basing on the safety of self-driving cars because of this type of transportation is still fresh. Scientists created an ‘incident report’ about the safety of self-driving cars, and with this method, they are inspecting these vehicles by every mile they pass.
Planning the Path
The main part of our safety problems is Path Planning. We are presuming that sensors used on the vehicles of the crazy concept are the same ones used in the hypothetical self-driving cars that we talked about earlier in the article. More than that, we are presuming that SLAM (Simultaneously Localize and Map) software is pretty much the same. The sensor fusion looks almost identical. We are hoping that PID control systems will do what they`re told in the future.
