We live in a time when driverless cars are no longer a futuristic, sci-fi robotic vision – they are already a thing of the present and will be available on the market in only a few years’ time – but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re 100% ready for the road just quite yet.
Driverless cars, also known as autonomous cars, are automated cars capable of taking control of the main transportation duties of the car. It can sense surroundings thanks to techniques like radars, GPS and computer vision. The cars are capable of updating maps and locations for uncharted environments and changing conditions, which are based upon the sensory input of the vehicle.
Google’s self-driving car is leading the pack right now, with the vehicles already being sent out on the roads for testing. The plans are for the cars to be made available in 2020, so there are still 5 years to perfect the technology.
The latest infographic from ClickMechanic have looked at six of the main issues that face the driverless car technology right now – and are things Google will be actively working on improving during the next few years. The infographic looks at the problems and what might be a possible solution for each one.
How do autonomous cars think on their feet? They may struggle to recognize human interaction or sudden movements which could put pedestrians, cyclists and construction workers around the road at risk of a collision. It is definitely tricky testing human/robot interaction due to limited interactions and past experience so the results of their current testing will definitely help in solving the issues of any difficulty in recognizing small animals and pedestrian hazards.
Another issue that driverless cars need to overcome would be to factor in the weather and any unprecedented conditions. As of right now, snow and ice are pretty much untested hazards for autonomous cars. By 2020, $20 billion will have been spent adding ‘smart sensors’ to cities around the world which will help to guide the car. Additional sensors in the vehicles may help to reduce the issue.
Have a look at the infographic below to see some of the obstacles that driverless cars need to overcome, before they are to be made available to the public.
Six Problems Facing Driverless Cars
Infographic source: Click Mechanic
