WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY SELF PARKING CARS?
BMW , Audi, and Toyota are three of the car companies who have added "self-parking" to the new list of extras available on their cars. Currently these cars do not completely drive themselves into parking spots, however, with driver input and sensors the car uses an on-board computer system to take over the steering wheel and can parallel park against a curb, even between two cars. In the newest Toyota Prius models with this feature specifically, the driver still controls shifting the gears and pressing the brakes to control the speed, the computer system simply controls the steering wheel.
HOW EXACTLY DOES THIS TECHNOLOGY WORK?
Most of the self-parking cars available now have sensors around the outside of the entire vehicle to sense when the curb, or other vehicles are close, and their distance from the car. Some cars also have cameras to detect objects near the car. After determining distance from other objects, the care can then steer into the space as the driver releases the brakes and sets the car into reverse and drive.
WILL WE HAVE SELF-DRIVING CARS SOON?
Many car companies are working on cars that can do more and more automatically. For example, BMW is currently in the process of having a car that can park itself into small horizontal spaces such as garages. Tesla has also released a software update in 2016 that allows the Model S vehicles (shown above) to "automatically steer down the highway, change lanes, adjust speed to traffic conditions and parallel park at the touch of a button." Much like the self parking feature that is becoming more and more popular, this technology works through a combination of sensors, cameras, and radar to constantly collect data and change accordingly. These cars still require the driver to shift gear, and control the commands, however, technology regarding cars is improving daily.
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO COMPUTER SCIENCE?
These cars "driving themselves" are all a result of the programming of their computer systems by computer scientists in order to control the wheel, sense things around them, use rearview cameras, and interpret the information from the cameras and sensors in order to safely make adjustments to the movement of the car. The car's computer system is constantly receiving input from its surrounding and creating algorithms in order to respond with the proper output, keeping those in the car safe.
http://www.gayot.com/lifestyle/automobile/lists/self-driving-cars/tesla-model-s-p90d.html
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/self-parking-car2.htm
http://blog.caranddriver.com/laser-guided-bmw-i3-will-park-itself-literally-at-2015-ces/
I've read before that about 90% of car accidents are caused by human error. Would self-driving cars effectively reduce the amount of accidents and enhance the safety of the road? How could self-driving cars predict if the driver in the car next to them was about to swerve into their lane on the highway?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that cars are getting more automation and safety packages, like self-parking and even self-driving. With the advance of technology, manufacturer now are capable of considering most possibilities. However, sometimes the negligence on the customer side might result in an accident as well. This is an interesting post, Self-parking Volvo ploughs into journalists after owner neglects to pay for extra feature that stops cars crashing into people, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/self-parking-volvo-plows-into-journalists-after-owner-neglects-to-pay-for-extra-feature-that-stops-10277203.html
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting how this actually seemed to be a gradual process that first worked on improving our parking skills. First rear-view cameras came, then later there were additions such as parking assist lines that could show you where your car would be heading. The lines could also float to where your car would go based on how the wheel would turn and not just be passive.
ReplyDeleteMy dad's car has a feature where sensors would detect if you're physically too close to something outside your line of sight, either in front of or behind your car. It would beep at you at a faster rate the closer you got.
It seems most of these sensors that once were used to help the user park and not hit anything can now be used in tandem with each other to allow a computer to park your car all by itself. It's really neat!