Invasion of the Robot Cars

Picture this: You are driving along the PIE early in the morning, still trying to shake off the hangover you had the previous night. And while your hands are on the steering wheel, you notice towards your right another car is passing by. On closer look, you see the driver of that car reading a copy of Switch magazine with both his hands on the magazine! You rub your eyes hard and wonder if you were still dreaming, and then it dawns on you that no, that car beside you is actually driving by itself!

This is not a scene from Matrix, nor is it from any other sci-fi futuristic movie. This is something that is already a possibility. Google – the company behind the largest online search engine operator – is now tinkering on yet another form of engine, that of a car. Several cars were already on test-drive on the roads of California. According to the New York Times, seven test cars have travelled 1,600 kilometres without human intervention. (A driver is, however, placed behind the steering wheel, just in case). It seems that those cars have already successfully navigated along roads with heavy traffic.

Google’s robot car is equipped with artificial-intelligence software; a rotating sensor on its roof, which can scan more than 61 metres in all directions to create a 3D map of the car’s environment; a video camera mounted behind the windshield that helps the navigation system look out for pedestrians, bicyclists and traffic lights; three radar devices on the front bumper, and one in the back; and a sensor on one of the wheels that allows the system to determine the car’s position on the 3D map, according to the Times. The car also features a GPS device and a motion sensor. It follows a route programmed into the GPS system, and it can be instructed to drive cautiously, or more aggressively.

“Our goal is to help prevent traffic accidents, free up people’s time and reduce carbon emissions by fundamentally changing car use,” Google said on its blog.

Well, if that’s the case, all the environmental and safety factors are worthy of praise. But, you’d better wish you have enough moolah to afford these “futuristic” automated vehicles as we don’t think they come in cheap.

So, if money is no object, passing your driving test no longer seems that important, does it?

(Source: ZDnetasia)