Introduction
In this modern era, Technology has been revolutionizing day by day. The whole world is connected through modern technology and all technologies are colliding with one another, forming new ones (Armstrong 2017, p.11). Scientists are working on various new technologies such as AI, sensors, 3D printing, etc.
If we start talking about the sensors, it itself is a broader term. So we are going to talk about sensors in particular field like sensors and Autonomous vehicles. It is an emerging technology as scientists are working on this and it will take time to come in the world. But once it comes, autonomous vehicles will disrupt the traditional vehicles. If we talk about present, autonomous vehicles comes in Emerging technology.
Self-driving cars itself says cars in which there is no need of drivers to drive the vehicle, they combine sensors to navigate and drive the vehicle. These are also known as autonomous and “driver-less” cars. With the help of sophisticated technology, unmanned vehicles will able to pick up the passengers and take them to their destination. These autonomous cars will help people to travel easier without any physical Fatigues. That’s why scientists start thinking about these autonomous cars as the main work of all scientists is to make human life easier. Before developing any technology, Security issues are the main thing that scientists and developers keep in their mind. Recent studies show that 90% of road accidents are caused by human error(Writer et al.,2018). Humans cannot learn all the traffic rules whereas on the other hand we can insert all the rules in the autonomous vehicles, so autonomous car will be more aware of the traffic rules as compared to human and ultimately safety will be more. In autonomous vehicles, sensors will help us a lot as whenever any misshaping will occur it will automatically dials police number which is the most advantageous point. In the middle-east areas, girls cannot drive cars so it will also solve the issue of gender equality as well. In addition to this, disabled people will also get benefit with autonomous vehicles. They do not need to depend on others or no need of hiring drivers. This is the most important point which will solve the equality issue.
As we all know, these autonomous cars will be very expensive and only the rich can afford it. But this somewhat depends on government as well. The authorities need to develop smart policies which meet the need of the users, including marginalized populations (Commentary et al., 2019).
Historical influences of sensors in autonomous vehicles
In the 1920s, research for driverless car has been started. First attempt was made in 1926 by remote-control. There were several attempts made after this but nothing knows like today. Carts are the origins of these autonomous vehicles. Leonardo da Vinci designed a cart that could move without being pushed or pulled. The U.S. department of defense’s research arm, DARPA, sponsored a series of challenges that pushed autonomous technologies forward. (WIRED, 2019)
According to the Bowman (2018), argued that the industry uses a five-level scale to measure the capabilities of self-driving vehicles.
Level Zero (No Automation) – No automation where human do driving.
Level One (Driver Assistance) — Human-driven but certain functions that car can taken over like slow down in traffic.
Level Two (Partial Automation) — Lane-keeping like car can keep itself in lane. Control-speed using environment. Hands-off navigation but driver still takes control when needed.
Level Three — Autonomous and Non-Autonomous (Controversial). Lanes are changed. Full navigation but still need an eye. Drivers must still take control when needed.
Level Four (High Automation) — Full navigation with no human intervention. No driver is required. It is restricted to well-mapped areas and ideal road conditions.
Level Five (Full Automation) –Driving on unmapped roads and any weather condition. No driver is required. No steering wheel is necessary.
Historically, driving cars was fully dependent on humans but today we are on the level two and three. Scientists are working on unmanned vehicles to fulfill the target of level four and five.
Technical overview of sensors and autonomous cars
There are many types of sensors used in autonomous vehicles such as radar, camera, LIDAR which works together to make navigation easier in autonomous vehicles (Writer et al., 2018).
Radar: Radar is a system for detecting the presence, direction, distance and speed of any object by sending out the radio waves which are reflected back to the source. Radar in autonomous vehicles is used in changing lanes, for parking and for detecting heavy traffic. It is used for collision warning and avoidance. Radars are connected into the front and rear bumpers and sides of the vehicles. The frequency of the radars at which it operates is 77GHz (Schweber, 2016).
LIDAR: LIDAR is a system for detecting the lights. LIDAR sensors are fitted on the roofs of the cars. It is used for detecting the street lights, traffic lights, back lights which are moving in front of the car. It also enhances depth resolution and 3D point-like “cloud” that transforms the data into volume identification and vector information. The transformed result is then calculated the vehicles position, speed and direction relative to external objects to avoid collisions and other accidents. (Schweber, 2016)
LIDAR system provides accurate 3D vision of the surrounding by providing 360 degree view and big-picture imaging. Thomas Schwenke (Autonomous car / self-driving car – How it works! 2018)
Ultrasonic sensors: These sensors are planted in the wheels and can detect the position of other vehicles while parking. Eventually, a central computer analyses all the data from the sensors and manipulate acceleration and braking. (Self-Driving Cars: The Future of Transportation)
Cameras: Cameras are used for detecting obstacles and read road signs and keep track of other vehicles. In addition, it also looks for people who are walking on the road by using Artificial Intelligence.
Impact of this technology
Autonomous vehicle technology has a profound impact across both business and society.
Autonomous cars use electric power rather than using non-renewable resources. Resultantly, it will not produce any harmful gases like sulphur, mercury and nitrogen dioxide –reducing the effect of global warming. Therefore, keeps our environment clean. (Darlington, 2018)
Autonomous vehicles can’t drink, can’t get sleepy and can adjust maximum speed (Denis, 2018). So, the things which can cause road accidents due to carelessness of humans are avoided by autonomous vehicles. Hence, self-driving vehicles are safer transportation to the society.
Autonomous vehicles can be shared by multiple members of the society as this will reduce number of cars which will ultimately reduce traffic problems.
Graham, (2018) argued that companies like Google and Tesla are putting all the efforts for advancing this technology. In nearby future, dominos pizza will make driverless deliveries and will use AI to keep up all the records of the delivery. In industries such as America’s largest grocery store chain Kroger will start delivering their goods in unmanned vehicles accelerating the growth of deliveries and all these deliveries will become efficient and economical.
Thanks to Autonomous vehicles, transportation will become faster, easier and cheaper. Therefore, it encourages more weekend trips to near destinations and will prove to be a boon for hotels and companies like Shangri-La Hotel Sydney. Travelers need not take rest in motels owing to autonomous vehicles as different modes are present like sleeping mode, meeting mode, etc. Hence, it helps in reaching their destination in less time without any Fatigueness. (Bowman, 2018)
Ridesharing industries will also get benefit as autonomous vehicles do not need any drivers so the profit margins of the industries will increase as they don’t need to share with the drivers and for riders it will get cheaper. (Bowman, 2018)
Autonomous cars will help the humans in various issues such as sensors will help to detect the parking space before entering into any lane results in time –saving. Autonomous cars will drop-off the users’ right at the door and then simply park themselves in the right place (CaspianReport, 2018).
Reference
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SIMRAN MITTAL SIT124 