How autonomous vehicles are shaping our future

The race for mass-market self-driving cars is well and truly on. Mercedes-Benz recently tested an autonomous S-class on public roads and declared it wants to become first to market this type of car, tentatively suggesting it might achieve this this decade. But Nissan has boldly announced plans to sell affordable self-driving cars by 2020, so we took the opportunity to assess its progress via an autonomous Leaf prototype. It’s all section of Nissan’s ‘Blue Citizenship’ social responsibility plan, a trinity of goals consisting of zero emissions (the Leaf is already the world’s best-selling EV by far ), near-zero fatalities and mobility for many. It’s the latter aims that autonomous driving will tackle ; in the end, 93 per cent from the US’s road accidents are caused by human error, and an autonomous car may also grant new independence to those not able to drive. The tech is founded on Nissan’s existing ‘Safety Shield’, a radar and camera-based set-up which has featured on 730, 000 cars to date, bringing by it features for example lane departure warning, adaptive cruise and all-around camera views. The autonomous Leaf adds continuously scanning lasers — ten times more precise than radar — and also a raft of latest software algorithms to fuse, process and react to sensor feeds and actuation systems to the steering, accelerator and brakes. (Just the steering wheel is physically actuated ; the Leaf’s accelerator and brakes are electronically controlled, so there’s no need for pedal movement, and also the controls retain precautionary manual override. ) Autonomous driving is said to become safer simply because machines work more quickly than we do. Our eyes capture fewer frames per second when compared to a high-speed camera, our brain processes data and reacts inwith it more slowly when compared to a CPU, and our hands and feet are trounced for pace by electronic actuators. Along with safety and mobility benefits, autonomous cars would also relieve us of driving’s regular tedium. Why waste your attention edging through town or slogging in the motorway when you may be reading or working? Or, collectively demo showed us, why spend your time and effort parking when you may be shopping? Nissan says the logical progression is perfect for cars that contact one another to make optimum traffic flow without stop lights or lanes. Same space, more cars, less congestion. The company’s laser-equipped knee-high robots (‘EPOROs’ ) preview the chance by moving together as a school of fish. Here is the technology which should move autonomous vehicles coming from the blackboard towards the black top. Self-parkingOnce the driver steps out, a ‘valet’ button upon the key fob locks the doors and sets the car off to get yourself a space, having recorded the drop-off point by GPS. Using lasers and cameras, the Leaf navigates around cars (both parked and moving ) and painted lanes. Each time a space is identified, the Leaf signals, pulls past it, checks the scale the gap after which reverses in using the help of conventional radar sensors. Shopping done, the owner presses the valet button again and also the Leaf navigates its way to the starting point. Sensor fusionFully equipped, the autonomous Leaf uses four cameras that combine to provide a near-360 degree view (the front camera is really a hi-res, long-range unit to assist read road signs ). A front radar sensor reads as much as 200m before the car, there‘s a further radar sensor each and every rear corner (whose arrays overlap and extend to 70m ), plus there’s the new bit : six laser scanners, positioned front, rear and each and every corner. These scanners will be the boxy addenda you observe upon the silver car and maybe have a useful choice of 100m. The laser control unit inside the rear from the car collates the feeds, then sends signals towards the steering actuator, accelerator and brakes. Motorway drivingThe Leaf observes lane discipline via laser scanners, passing slower vehicles using the surface lane and signalling appropriately. Unexpected obstacles for example errant pedestrians are recognised from the lasers, too, and when braking alone won’t avoid them, the steering actuators kick in. An ‘SOS’ button pulls the car in then triggers a call towards the emergency services. All of the while, speed limits are observed via sign recognition. Urban drivingWorking with or without sat-nav assistance, the Leaf identifies and negotiates complex urban scenarios for example US four-way stop sign intersections, acting upon the first-stop, first-go convention by recognising road signs and monitoring the activity of other vehicles via laser scanning. Traffic lights are observed, accompanied using a “signal is red / green” voice message to elucidate the car’s behaviour. The Leaf also pauses behind parked vehicles before passing via the oncoming lane when it’s clear to do this. The passenger experienceThough susceptible to adopting overly cautious driving lines around obstacles, the autonomous Nissan Leaf isn’t shy about calling upon the electric drivetrain’s instant torque for rapid acceleration, and braking is fairly aggressive, too.  The actuated steering inputs really certainly can be a revelation, though ; close your eyes there could almost be human on the job the wheel, so smooth will be the inputs — even during emergency manoeuvres. How autonomous vehicles are shaping our future