Tag Archives: Autonomous Car

Autonomous 1965 Mustang Drives Worse Than My Drunken Grandfather

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As a child of the ’80s, I was involved in some very questionable dealings that would see the State taking kids away today. One such occasion was when my paraplegic grandfather took me on the backroads to the drive-up beer store to get his favorite Schlitz beer. Long story short, 8-year-old me ended up driving him home in an El Camino with hand controls while he guzzled said brewski. Instruction consisted of “push this to go, pull it to stop.” I’m pretty sure he is the reason Texas now has an open container law.

This Siemens autonomous Mustang went up the famed Goodwood hill climb in approximately the same fashion I was able to drive us home that day, which is to say slowly and weaving around the road.

The main difference is that my safety driver, who grabbed the wheel every now and again, was an elderly man hopped up on Schlitz with no legs below the knees. A such a glorious time. We didn’t even wear seatbelts and I had to drive on my knees to see over the wheel. Goodwood 2018 wasn’t such a glorious time for the Siemens Mustang.

The car is a modified 1965 Ford Mustang outfitted with GPS and sensor tech that appears to lackthe accuracy needed for the task. As a result, the car went slowly and weaved all over the place. It even tried to drive into the crowd a few times as Mustangs often do. If this is the future of autonomous cars, I want no part of it.

If you’re looking for a slightly more impressive autonomous run at Goodwood, check out this lap from Roborace:

[via CNET]

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New Technology Can See Through Fog
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New Technology Can See Through Fog

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There’s been a lot of buzz in the media this past week about the first ever pedestrian fatality involving an autonomous vehicle. While there was clearly some kind of failure to see the pedestrian by both the system and the safety driver, self-driving car systems are generally quite good at detecting pedestrians and other objects in clear weather. One thing that today’s autonomy systems (and humans) can’t do well is see through fog. But that may soon change, thanks to a new technology being developed by MIT engineers.

Researchers out of the Camera Culture Group at the MIT Media Lab developed a new imaging method which uses short laser bursts to detect the distance and shape of objects even when they’re completely obscured by fog. A camera counts up the number of light particles that reach it at a regular interval, which gives the system enough information to compute the depth and distance of objects.

The current version of the technology can only penetrate about 22 inches of fog, but the fog used in the test was far denser than what is typically encountered on the road. With some enhancements, it’s possible that the system could work far enough ahead on a foggy road to make a difference in vehicular safety. Keep in mind that this kind of technology might not just help self-driving cars be safer, but it could make driving in fog safer for human drivers by alerting them to obstacles they can’t see with the naked eye.

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Make your regular car instantly autonomous!

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Clip a cover onto your phone, and it becomes an Alexa smart speaker, put a small tile on your keys and never lose them again, install X-Matik’s LaneCruise add-on system in your car and you now have a partially self-driving vehicle. The system itself consists of a “brainbox” which is located below the driver’s seat, a camera projecting forward from the rear-view mirror, a break and gas pedal along with a wheel controller to steer.

X-Matik’s vision is to democratize the self-driving car and give the power of this magnificent technology to people who can’t afford the likes of Tesla and other high-end vehicles. If at any stage the LaneCruise feels it is out of its depth, the system will prompt the user to regain control of the steering wheel ensuring maximum safety. Albeit the LaneCruise is missing sonar and radar, this is an exhilarating step in the right direction.

Designer: X-Matik

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10 Incredible Futuristic Cars Designs

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Like other things, cars have evolved with time, thanks to manufacturers who always keep an eye on cutting edge technologies for transport vehicles. A typical four-wheeled car’s main purpose is to transport, but we have moved farther from that.

As we move towards the future, car makers are also preparing more advanced cars to enable comfort for people and, well, for car geeks, it’s more than that, of course. We’re already talking about electric vehicles and self-driving vehicles here. We’ll give you a preview of some of them here:

Toyota FCV Plus self-driving car

Image via: Autoblog

Toyota proves that they’re a company that’s way more than the typical sedans. In 2015, the car maker has unveiled a futuristic and spaceship-looking car called FCV Plus. This concept car is from Toyota is more than just style; it runs on hydrogen fuel, which means, it’s eco-friendly too. FCV Plus is one of those potential cars for the future, but as the car maker continues to work on perfecting the vehicle, we can just wait for now.

Mercedes Benz’ F 015 Luxury in Motion self-driving car

Image via: Entrepreneur.com

Mercedez Benz is also not allowing itself to get left behind and is also working on its own self-driving car. As a matter of fact, on top of wowing the audience at the Consumer Electronics Show, the some lucky pedestrians in San Francisco were also lucky to spot the amusing capsule-looking vehicle on the streets as Benz began to test drive it beginning some two years ago. Aiming for class and luxury, Benz envisions a lounge looking four seater design for its interior.

GAC WitStar Concept autonomous vehicle in China

Image via: cleantechnica

China, which seems to have answers in every commodity, has this WitStar concept that looks somehow similar with the Benz self-driving concept. The difference is, this vehicle has a gull wing door and an option to drive of to autopilot. I bet this would be much cheaper than the Benz as well.

Tata ConnectNext electric car

Image via: Ibtimes

 

Even Indian car maker Tata is in the loop with futuristic cars. As early as 2014, it has already made a prototype of its expected modern vehicle. This five-seater electric car boasts design and functionality: it has floating seats and highly-technological features, such as the steering wheel active indicators, augmented navigation and infotainment.

Tesla’s Model 3 electric self-driving car

Image via: Business Insider

An autonomous vehicles list will not be complete without Tesla, of course. it’s not only an autonomous vehicle, it’s also eco-friendly as it would run on electricity and can travel at least 215 miles on a single charge.  It’s rumored to begin production this year, so start pre-ordering for this modern vehicle because it already has more than 400,000 pre-orders to date!

LeEco’s LeSEE self-driving car in China

Image via: lesee

Meanwhile, China’s LeEco has also made its own self-driving car concept in an attempt to compete with Tesla. But what sets it differently from Tesla, is its goal to change the taxi industry in China, compared to Tesla, which is generally marketing for the general public.

Electric RoboBuses in Finland

Image via: inhabitat

Self-driving technology is not only focused in sedans. Just like this cute-looking self-driving bus which is set to roam around the streets of Finland this year!

Harry, the driverless pod in Greenwich, England

Image via: The Guardian

U.K. does not want to get left behind and created their own driverless pod, 100 of which is set to roam in the city, is set to launch in July.

Lutz Pathfinder self-driving car in the UK

Image via: Redbull

Meanwhile, this vehicle doesn’t look like an actual car, but it is. The makers of Lutz Pathfinder is already testing the vehicle out in the streets to understand how it will react to the city environment such as pedestrians. Indeed, the company seems to be preparing for a safer and smarter community. Cheers!

General Motor’s Electronic Networked-Vehicle

Image via: NY Daily News

Similar to Lutz Pathfinder is this cutesy concept self-driving vehicle from General Motors. Apart from typical technologies like GPS, it also has the capability to “communicate” to other similar vehicles as means to maneuver the traffic.

How to Trap an Autonomous Car

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A performance artist has devised a simple way to trap unruly autonomous cars. A guy going by the name “stml” has done this by using the dotted and solid lines we all know for the streets we drive on each day. He simply created two circles made out of salt, and let his semi-autonomous car drive into it.

The car sees the dotted lines as ok to cross and the solid lines as a no-go. That means the car can slip into the circle, but refuses to leave afterwards. It’s sort of like an autonomous car Hotel California. You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave.

I do think he might have just ruined autonomous cars though. If hackers can mess things up for us with nothing but salt, we are doomed.

[via Laughing Squid]

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Ford’s Autonomous Vehicle Plan Puts Driverless Cars on Roads by 2021

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There’s been lots of buzz in the media about self-driving vehicles of late, but the reality is that it may be quite some time before consumers will have cars that can drive themselves without the need for some driver input. Between safety concerns, infrastructure needs, and costs, the technology isn’t quite ready for the masses. Regardless, automaker Ford has set its sights on putting a fully-autonomous vehicle into production by 2021.

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Unlike some of the partially autonomous vehicles currently in production, Ford’s first autonomous car will have no steering wheel, and no gas or brake pedals. These cars will be SAE level-4 capable, which means these cars will requires zero human input to drive, though they’re not designed to operate in all driving situations as of yet.

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Ford President and CEO Mark Fields speaks about the future of mobility at the 2016 Further with Ford trends conference.

We’re already starting to see some on-road testing of Ford’s prototype autonomous Fusions, with about 30 cars scheduled for their fleet by the end of this year. In addition, the company plans on launching a fully-autonomous employee shuttle at their Dearborn headquarters in 2018. The cars use a combination of LiDAR, radar, and cameras to map and sense the environment around them, combined with sophisticated software to make decisions on when to apply gas, brakes, turn signals, and steering.

Here’s some footage from our fellow journalist Tamara Warren at The Verge, on a 1 mile trip around the Ford campus in one of these impressive prototypes:

Ford envisions that its first driverless cars will be used for ride-sharing services, along the lines of Uber and Lyft, rather than sold directly to consumers. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is the initial cost of autonomous vehicle technology. In addition, ride-sharing services can be limited to specific geofenced areas, such as downtown in major cities. This will provide for a more limited number of scenarios for these early self-driving cars to handle. In addition, cutting the human out of the equation could cut the cost of operating a ridesharing service from about $2.50 per mile down to about $1.00 per mile. Hopefully some of this savings will be passed along to consumers, and not just to the bottom line the ride-sharing companies.

Ford EVP of Product Development, Raj Nair discusses his vision for autonomous vehicles with author Dan Lyons.

Ford EVP of Product Development and CTO, Raj Nair discusses his vision for autonomous vehicles with author Dan Lyons.

Ford hopes that costs for autonomous cars will come down as the next decade goes on, it’s also quite possible that the first markets to get them will be outside of the U.S. and Europe. China and India seem the most ripe for the technology for instance, as these countries suffer from some of the world’s longest commutes, and less experienced drivers who are more willing to give up control of their cars than those of us stateside. U.S. and European markets are likely to have the strictest safety and government requirements, so I wouldn’t be surprised it fully-autonomous cars for individuals will take longer to emerge in these markets than in China and India.

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Beyond the technological challenges that autonomous vehicles pose, there are numerous legal, safety, and ethical questions that must be asked and answered before the cars become a common sight on public streets. Focusing in on ride-sharing seems like a smart way to get cars into the market, and to help drive down the eventual cost of these technological wonders. It’s impressive to see how far self-driving technology has come in recent years, and how a major manufacturer like Ford is investing so heavily in making them a reality.

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Two Self-Driving Cars Nearly Miss Collision in California

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One of the self-driving cars was operated by Google while the other was an Audi run by Delphi Automotive. The Google driven car apparently cut off the Audi self-driving car as it was trying to change...