What is autonomous vehicle technology?
The basic principle is to have road vehicles circulate in an automated way. It means that they should take all driving decisions based on the calculation of the input data without human control.
The main focus is on making roads safer, getting rid of traffic jams, and improving overall mobility. There are many far-reaching benefits that could come from automated vehicles, and they are set to change the transportation industry as we know it.
How can autonomous vehicles solve traffic jams?
It is agreed that traffic jams are mainly caused because of poor calculation. Each driver on the road has no idea what is happening with the traffic at that given moment somewhere else.
The driver is very limited to calculate the next movement based only on sightseeing but completely ignores what is happening at the next intersection that he can not visually see. This is why there are some radio stations informing about the traffic situation to alleviate as much as possible the congestion.
Imagine now, all road vehicles exchanging information with each other, deciding the driving speed for each. For instance, when the distance between vehicles starts to become smaller and smaller they will automatically notify the vehicles coming behind to slow down far ahead than causing congestion.
Are there any autonomous vehicles currently used?
At the moment, technology has advanced to the point where partially automated vehicles are now being used on the roads. In certain situations, like when driving on the highway or in slow-moving traffic, these cars can control their own speed, steering, and brakes. But the driver still has to stay alert and be ready to take control of the car if needed.
Even though there has been a lot of progress in recent years, there are still a lot of technical and legal problems to solve before fully automated vehicles can become a reality. Making sure the systems are reliable and safe is one of the biggest challenges. This requires both the hardware and software parts to be very accurate and reliable.
Even with these problems, automated vehicle technology keeps getting better and better at a very fast rate. Big car companies, tech companies, and governments are all putting a lot of money into the development of this technology of the future.
Avoiding accidents is a huge thing too.
One of the best things about automated cars is that they could cut the number of car accidents by a lot. Human error is a big reason why people get into car accidents, and automated vehicles could get rid of this. This will not only save lives, but it will also save money for society by lowering the costs that come with car accidents, both financially and socially.
In the end, the progress being made in the field of technology for cars that drive themselves is nothing short of amazing. Even though there are still a lot of problems to solve, the benefits of this technology could be huge. The future of transportation is changing quickly, and it’s exciting to be a part of this change.
