How Self-Driving Cars Work - 754 Words

Driving a car safely requires complete attention of the driver in order to minimize risk of accidents. With the fast pace and busy lives of people today, sometimes risky choices are made, like texting or making calls while driving, even though it is unsafe and against the law. Calling a taxi to drive you to your destination is a safer alternative, but could be expensive over time. Imagine being able to safely and affordably drive to your desired destination while eating breakfast, reviewing business documents, and/or making phone calls en route. This vision is possible with self-driving cars, but what consideration must be taken into account to make this a reality? Introduction / Background Companies like Google, Tesla and Nissan,†¦show more content†¦3]. The car is also equipped with a laser range finder which is used to scan more than 200 feet in all directions to generate a 3-dimentional map area around the car. This helps the self-driving car determine if it is on a road or heading towards the sidewalk. Four small radars are located in the front bumper and rear bumper to aid in figuring out the positions of far objects. In addition, the Google car has a camera which is used to detect traffic lights and help figure out moving objects [Ref. 4] As a safety precaution, self-driving cars need to have some way for passengers to manually override the autonomous driver and take control of the car in the event a sensor fails or the car is malfunctioning. Some Potential Problems and Solutions with Implementing Self-Driving Cars There are some major challenges in getting self-driving cars on the road safely. One problem that has been identified is having the car understand when traffic signs are not working and a police officer is directing traffic. This has been identified as very difficult [Ref. 5]. A possible solution is to have police officers equipped with special transmitters that the car can recognize. This would prevent the possibility of just anyone on the street making hand signs and controlling where your car is going. Another identified issue with self-driving cars is that if the carShow MoreRelatedAre Self Driving Cars Really A Problem?950 Words   |  4 PagesAre Self-Driving Cars really a problem? In â€Å"Reliability of Self-driving Cars. An Interesting Challenge!† by Aarnout Brombacher, he states that self-driving cars will not work due to the public not being able to change their driving habits. Matt McFarland, in â€Å"What It’s like to Ride in a Google Self-Driving Car,† thinks that self-driving cars aren’t controlling in a way where humans do not have any control. Humans have the option to take control whenever they feel that it is necessary. 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As cars start to move and the traffic slowly dissipates, flashing lights can be seen ahead. Upon approaching the flashing red and blue lights, it is clear to see a horrible wreck has occurred. A handful of cars are totally demolished and a gaggleRead MoreSelf Driving Cars Essay797 Words   |  4 Pages Self-Driving Cars a threat to America? What’s the one thing you have been looking forward to when you turn sixteen? Of course get to drive legally, but self-driving cars could take that special moment away from you. In a recent article published in 2016, it stated that self-driving cars are no longer science fiction; these cars will have many advantages and disadvantages. To start off self-driving cars are monitored by computers and those can glitch. Self driving cars are programmed to obey theRead MoreSelf Driving Cars Are No Longer An Idea Of The Future1710 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction/Overview Self-driving cars are no longer an idea of the future. In fact, they are already being developed and test driven by multiple car manufacturers. One of the main goals of self-driving cars is to allow people to get around safely and easily, regardless of the ability to drive. Self-driving cars can be divided into two different categories: fully autonomous and semi-autonomous (Greenough, 2015). Semi-autonomous cars have been released to the public, meaning the car has features thatRead MoreThe Invention Of The Self Driving Car1357 Words   |  6 Pagesyourself, â€Å"Are self driving vehicles even possible?† Well, the simple answer is yes. In fact, the self driving car and other self driven forms of transportation, like autopilot, have already been invented. The exception being that the self driving car is still being tested before becoming commercially available. It truly is amazing how much has been done in such a short period of time. Go back 20 years and some of these ideas seemed completely impossible. 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Paul Waldman is an online blogger for The Week and The Washington Post, and he wrote an article that was published as blog post for The Week on July 2015 about self-driving cars and â€Å"the frightening truth† behind them. Waldman successfully fuels the fear people have about self-driving cars by citing a source that introduces and experiments on a problem not many people haveRead MoreSelf-Driving Cars. How Wou ld You Feel About A Car Driving1456 Words   |  6 PagesSelf-Driving Cars How would you feel about a car driving itself while you’re sitting in the passenger seat? Self driving cars are supposed to be the new norm in a few decades. But with so many safety issues and expenses how would you feel about purchasing one? I personally would not want one strictly for the reason of not wanting technology to completely take over our world. Technology is already such a huge part of our lives, and lets be honest who could forget the feeling of receiving your driversRead MoreMichael Huff. Dr. Palacios. Rhetoric And Research. 24 April902 Words   |  4 Pages24 April 2017 Are Self-driving Vehicles Safer Than Human Operated Vehicles? â€Å"Humans have since the days of Leonardo da Vinci’s supposed robotic cart dreamed of true automobiles: Self-driving cars† (Vanderbilt). Today the possibility of riding around in self-driving automobiles is more real than ever. Today there are self-driving cars being tested by multiple companies such as Google, Ford, Uber, General Motors, and more. The question everyone is asking is, are these self-driving vehicles safe? Some