Another Step Towards Cars that Drive Themselves
A necessary key development in order for us to see cars that drive themselves is to have cars that can communicate with one another, so as to avoid accidents and keep traffic moving smoothly. Communication is needed to let other vehicles on the road aware of potential delays and obstructions, thus allowing vehicles to choose the best routes to ensure timely arrival at a destination. One renowned car manufacturer is releasing some very relevant technology this year.
Modern cars are already programmed to do a lot of the grunt work for you. They can parallel park for you, slow down when you are coming up behind another vehicle too quickly, and even alert you if you are leaving your lane. They can detect hazards when you are driving in reverse that you may not be able to see even with a rear camera system. Radar systems, sensors, lasers and cameras all work together to make these modern driving innovations possible.
Thus far, everything that a car can do for you relies on line of sight. If you round a bend too quickly and traffic is backed up just around the corner, there’s no time for automatic braking to kick in. This is where intervehicular communications come into play. If the car just around the bend is sending a warning to other vehicles, line of sight isn’t necessary in order to know that it’s time to slow down.
The German car manufacturer hopes their new technology will make it possible for many new automated driving systems to be developed, with the goal of making driving ever safer. This technology will be installed in new vehicles in order to gather data that will help work out any kinks in the tech itself, as well as provide ideas for new applications of the technology. In the meantime, users may get heads up info about traffic accidents, road construction, and other obstructions that are up ahead. A display will show you all the necessary data so that you have plenty of time to slow down or choose an alternative route.
Don’t worry if you aren’t up for buying a new vehicle – a kit will be available to update present vehicles from the manufacturer. Prices and an exact release date are however not available as of yet.