Autonomous driving aid systems have come a long way in
recent years. Ranging from simple self-parking systems to fully autonomous
testing vehicles. SAE International describes autonomous driving systems in six
levels: No Automation (Level 0), Driver Assistance (Level 1) – such as auto-braking systems --,
Partial Automation (Level 2) – such as lane keeping assistance --, Conditional
Automation (Level 3) – ‘Fully’ autonomous but requires the driver to intervene
in certain situations --, High Automation (Level 4) – meaning that the system
will perform even when the driver does not respond to the intervene request --,
and last, Full Automation (Level 5) – meaning that the driver does not have to
aid the system.
Looking at every day passenger cars available on the market,
most of them have at least the option of autonomous braking, parking or
lane-keeping – i.e. Level 1, 2 or 3 depending on the combination of systems and
their design. For example, Tesla Autopilot or Volvo Lane Keep Assist provide
‘autonomous’ driving in some conditions. However, the driver ultimately has the
responsibility and is required to act when the system gives an alert. Thus,
making these systems merely a driver aid rather than a complete autopilot. On a
side note, I would argue that Tesla naming their driving aid system as
autopilot is rather controversial, as it gives the impression that the car will
be able to handle everything itself. This might cause some trouble for
uninformed drivers, since they might rely too much upon the system.
More advanced solutions exist today, but mainly for testing
purposes. An interesting example of this is the Wepods shuttle buses in
Gelderland, Netherlands. This project is already underway and the shuttle buses
are open for the public. The shuttles, in comparison to other similar projects,
drive along with regular traffic and drive passengers between the
Ede-Wageningen railway station and the WUR university campus.
I believe that these kinds of shuttle services, taxi and
car-pooling is the best way to integrate autonomous car into today’s society.
The public transport of today, at least where I live, is quite well-functioning
as it is right now, but autonomously driven buses could improve the working
ways of our public transport. Firstly, they would enable 24/7 bus traffic
without any real hassle regarding driver fatigue and the like. It would also
enable the buses to be designed in such a way as to maximize the passenger
space, resulting in more passengers per trip. Of course, this also requires the
electrification of such busses.
Along with improved public transport, transportation of
goods could also be improved greatly by the implementation of driverless
trucks. While the package delivery services from, for example DHL or UPS, are
very quick and the packages usually get delivered within a few days no matter
where it started, they could still benefit from driverless trucks and other
sorts of transportation systems. Since the truck driver is eliminated from the
equation, truck manufacturers would design the truck to maximize the cargo
space. Thus, more packages per truck and no driver involved could reduce
shipping costs by a large margin. Furthermore, it would also allow the trucks
to run around the clock, resulting in overnight transports being highly
effective and efficient.
Thank you for your in-depth introduction. The Wepods shuttle buses sound interesting! - The CDIO Academy Team
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