Historical and Technical information
Background of the autonomous car
The first appearance of a self-driving car is claimed to be during the 1963 Worlds Fair by most of the technology’s current researchers. The prototype was displayed to the public through the exhibit ‘’Futurama’’ of General Motors2. Technological advancement pertaining to this field of research began in the late 1940s and early 1950s, with RCA Laboratories and GM Research being the leading researchers.
At that time car manufacturers didn’t have access to the technology they have today. Due to these limiting factors, research for AVs proved to be very complex and the solution was deemed too hard to obtain.
Early years of development
The first notable effort in the development of such machinery came about in 1960 from a team led by Professor Robert Fenton at the Ohio State University3. At that time most of the tests that were run on these vehicles were conducted in analog format and most of the data obtained from these tests were inconclusive. Fenton and his team managed to measure in real-time the distance between the first car ahead of the test vehicle using a spring-wound tape.
However, despite the considerable efforts of some, due to lack of sensory techniques and technology that are otherwise readily available today, the development of AVs was stunted. Throughout the years, other countries with already acclaimed car manufacturers started to get involved further in the AV project.
- 1960(s)- Japan- the MEL (Mechanical Engineering Laboratory) and the AIST (Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) started research on automated highways using a combination of conducting wires attached to the road underneath and conductive coils on the bumper of the car to allow for remote control. 4
- 1980(s)- Germany- Professor Dickmanns and his team equip a Mercedes-Benz van with cameras and other sensors. 4
Operation of an Autonomous Vehicle
An AV uses a set of complex systems and data capture technologies together with an-board computer with a programmable AI that serves as the center of operation for all the other components that are used in the vehicle to operate and function.
Firstly, to be able to guide itself, or understand pathing without human interaction, there are a few sensory equipment, both hardware and software that need to be implemented in the vehicle for it to be able to obtain the information it needs on a real-time basis. A couple of the required telemetry systems are listed and detailed below.
- GPS
- Proximity Sensors & Cameras
GPS
A GPS or Global Positioning Satellite is a means of tracking the location of a certain object/person in real-time around the world using precise satellites positioned in orbit around the earth. An AV’s GPS obtains information from a satellite, and the on-board computer with dedicated software reads the information obtained, decrypts the data and displays the vehicle’s location on the on-board screen as well as updating the location of the vehicle on the computer’s database to facilitate autonomous driving.
The incoming feed from the satellite is directed to the on-board computer and from there the logics of the AI will determine the pathing to arrive to the desired location that has been preset by the user before the vehicle was launched.
Proximity Sensors & Cameras
The current developers of AVs are looking to influence the general market with their product, i.e. they expect a lot of vehicles to be sold. If there’s going to be a few of these self-driving machines on the road, it will require proper safety measures. Proximity sensors are devices that capture any obstacle, human or otherwise that cross a certain proximity range of the vehicle. The data that they capture and transmit to the computer allow the vehicle to process any obstacle in its proximity and thus determine if there will be any collision prior to the event happening. Coupled with logics from the AI and the automated steering, this valuable data serves to prevent the vehicle from colliding into any obstacles and thus protects its users.
If the AVs are to be driven on general roads, then one can expect several different types of obstacles for the AI to navigate against. Proximity sensors are very helpful but are limiting in a way that they do not provide enough information regarding the size of exact location of the obstacle. That’s where cameras come into play. On-board the vehicle, should be cameras, which have for purpose to inspect 360⁰ around the car and relate said information to the AI. By merging the data from the proximity sensors and the cameras the AI can determine the precise location and the nature of the obstacle in sight and thus properly navigate the vehicle around it.
The AV uses a combination of several sensory equipment as explained above coupled with a powerful AI to navigate itself from one desired location to another. It requires no further human input and can as described autonomously and safely transport its users from one spot to another.