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If you spend any time reading technology related content, you’d think that we’re ready to see flying cars in a few months. The talk of autonomous vehicles dominates the automotive sector and most recently the trucking industry. Trucking companies have been wanting this technology for years, but didn’t know it. They’ve complained about rising labor costs, driver shortages and excess regulations. The autonomous vehicle engineers have nearly solved these problems.
The topic of autonomous vehicles has only been mainstream recently, however the ongoing work has been quietly advancing for quite a few years. It’s been, and will continue to be an incremental process to full autonomy. This incremental process has been happening before our eyes and we didn’t even know it. Below are some of those incremental steps toward full autonomy.
There is enough data available now for a vehicle to drive itself
Standard cruise control has been around for years, but the safety assist systems are comparatively new and are only found in late model vehicles. There’s enough data available now for a vehicle to drive itself. Cameras and radar are present so everything relevant to the safe operation can be picked up by the sensors. Then, an advanced computing system calculates and initiates corrective actions. These corrective actions are performed much faster than a human can react. The final piece is to remove the driver and connect these systems to the steering mechanism and fully into the driveline.
It’s hard to say because the general public will take a lot of convincing before they will accept and trust this technology. The transition will be extremely challenging as it should be – there are many unanswered questions in regards to the programming. Philosophers have been tapped to determine what the most ethical decision would be when the vehicle has to react to a situation where there aren’t any good choices.
Here are some thoughts on how autonomous trucks may be implemented:
The projected increase in efficiency will demand that this massive effort succeed. The increased efficiency will lead to a myriad of positive results to include a reduction of trucks – therefore a reduction in fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gases.
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