[blindza] Re: Driverless car beats berlin traffic
- From: "Boshoff, Deon (GP Health)" <Deon.Boshoff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <blindza@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:32:47 +0200
And, what is Hi Jack saying about all this? I have tried pressing some buttons
on my cell phone, but no car came around for me...
Deon [G. Boshoff, BA[Stell]UDC[Potch]
WESKOPPIES HOSPITAL
Tel: 0123199735
Mobile: 0829699571
Fax: 0123277076
Bleeper: 0123199820, code 0002
E-mail:
Deon.boshoff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:Deon.boshoff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
or; 0829699571@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: blindza-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blindza-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Jacob Kruger
Sent: 21 September 2011 12:24 PM
To: blind@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: blindza@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; blindza@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blindza] Driverless car beats berlin traffic
http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/driverless-car-beats-berlin-traffic-1.1141378
(article content below)
Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
'...fate had broken his body, but not his spirit...'
---article content---
Driverless car beats Berlin traffic
September 20 2011 at 04:19pm
By Kirsten Grieshaber
This Volkswagen Passat has been driving itself around Berlin since June 2011,
and it hasn't had a accident yet, thanks to a 360-degree laser scanner on top
of the car, a GPS system and other sensors to monitor the surrounding traffic.
It can talk, see, drive and no longer needs a human being to control it by
remote. The car of the future - completely computer-controlled - is on the
streets of Berlin.
Since June 2011, researchers from the city's Free University have been testing
their autonomous vehicle around the German capital.
It maneuvres through traffic on its own using a sophisticated combination of
computer, electronics and a precision satellite navigation system in the boot,
a camera in the front, and laser scanners on the roof and around the front and
rear bumpers.
Raul Rojas, the head of the university's research group for artificial
intelligence, said on Tuesday: “The car can recognise other cars on the road,
pedestrians, buildings and trees as far as 70 metres away - and even see if the
traffic lights ahead are red or green and react accordingly.
“In fact, the car's recognition and reaction to its environment is much faster
than a human's.”
The scientists have worked on their research car, a Volkswagen Passat worth
€400 000 ($551,800) with lots of built-in special technology, for four years.
Labs assistant Paul Czerwionka adjusts the 360 degree laser scanner on top of
the Free University of Berlin autonomous car.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Several other groups have also been working on such technology recently,
notably Google, which has been testing a robotic Toyota Prius in Nevada.
Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, a professor for automotive economics at the University
of Duisburg-Essen, said: “There's a big trend for completely
computer-controlled cars - many companies and research centres in several
countries are working on it and it is hard to say, who's got the most-developed
vehicle at the moment.”
Dudenhoeffer estimated that with the technology advances, it could only take
another decade for the fully automatic cars to start becoming available for
consumers.
“Even today's cars are often partially computer-controlled, for example when it
comes to parking or emergency brakes.”
However, he said, besides the technological issues, the legal challenges would
be another issue that needed to be regulated: “Who will be responsible when
there's an accident - the owner or the passenger of the computer-controlled car
or the company that produced it?”
“However, all in all, one can definitely say that computer-controlled cars will
be much safer than human drivers,” Dudenhoeffer said. “Especially if you keep
in mind that most of today's accidents are caused by human error.”
The driverless Passat passes the famous Brandenburg Gate, with nobody on board;
nobody human, that is.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In Berlin, the university researchers received a special permit from the city's
security and safety controllers in June to use it in regular traffic - under
the condition that a safety driver sits behind the steering wheel, even if he
doesn't touch anything.
The team has also been allowed to let the car run without anybody aboard on a
special testing ground.
Rojas said: “This kind of technology is the future of mobility.
However, he was more conservative than Dudenhoeffer, saying that it could be
30-40 years before they became available to the average consumer.
The key to the automobile's intelligence is in the way the computer program
runs.
Rojas explained: “In the beginning with had trouble with the robotic driving
style of the car; but we've worked on the programming and now its driving style
is as smooth as a human being.”
Rojas estimates that once the technology - specifically the sensors - becomes
less expensive, such cars will eventually conquer the roads.
“It is similar to the beginnings of the computers - 40 years ago, only research
labs could afford computers, now everybody is walking around with a computer in
his pocket.”
Ideally, the car will respond to orders by remote control, for example on an
iPad or an iPhone. With a click or a touch, the passenger can call the car to
his personal location and then order the car to drop him off at his desired
destination.
“This kind of car is actually perfect for car sharing,” said Rojas. “There will
be no more need for owning a car - once the automobile has dropped off its
passenger it will drive on to the next passenger.” - Sapa-AP
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