S ELF - DRIVING C ARS by Daniel Collins

B RIEF H ISTORY OF S ELF -D RIVING C ARS General Motors sponsored a self-driving car that was exhibited in the 1939 World Fair. In the 1980s DARPA funded an Autonomous Land Vehicle that could follow roadways at speeds up to 30 km/h. GM currently has small self-driving, battery powered cars called EN-Vs in research and development.

S ENSOR T ECHNOLOGY U SED IN C ARS T ODAY Electronic Stability Control Blind Spot Alerts Active Cruise Control Self-Parking Vehicles

G OOGLE S V IEW Its a bug that cars were invented before computers. Your car should drive itself. It just makes sense. Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google

G OOGLE S S ELF -D RIVING C AR B ACKGROUND Brainchild of Sebastian Thrun In 2005 the Stanley Car won the Second Grand Challenge of DARPA. The car drove 132 miles in the desert. Licensed earlier this month for testing on Nevadas streets. Nevadas Autonomous Vehicle License Plate

G OOGLE S S ELF -D RIVING C AR B ACKGROUND CONT D Cars have logged over 140,000 miles with limited driver assistance Seven cars have each driven over 1,000 miles with no human intervention 7-10 years from production

L OOKS Currently using 6 Prius, an Audi TT, and a Lexus RX450H Rotating cylinder on top of the car – called a Lidar Video camera mounted to the rear-view mirror Position estimator mounted to rear left wheel 4 radar sensors – 3 mounted in the front, one in the rear The hardware is in the trunk of the car

Toyota Prius

Lexus RX450H

Audi TT

H OW IT W ORKS Uses radar, laser technology, sensors, and imagery to navigate the car Notifies the passengers when approaching a turn or crosswalk To take control of the car, you simply turn the wheel, touch the brake, or press a red button Follows GPS programmed route Can be programmed to mimic personal driving styles

Interior of a car during development

What the car sees

Hardware inside the Toyota Prius

B ENEFITS OF A UTONOMOUS V EHICLES Faster Reaction Times 360° Vision Wouldnt Become Distracted or Sleepy Doesnt Speed Eliminates Human Error Reduces Number of Cars Needed

P OTENTIAL L EGAL I SSUES Under current law, a human must be in control of a car at all times Who would be responsible for a wreck, the driver, or the software? What if a driver really wasnt paying attention through a school zone, assuming the robot has it under control? Despite these issues, Google has been licensed for testing in California and Nevada as long as a driver and engineer are present in the vehicle.

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W ORKS C ITED _r=1&pagewanted=all _r=1&pagewanted=all driving-car-could-be-on-streets-in-5-to-10-years driving-car-could-be-on-streets-in-5-to-10-years s-self-driving-car-is-this-the-next-generation-of- autos/2012/05/09/gIQAteiMDU_story.html s-self-driving-car-is-this-the-next-generation-of- autos/2012/05/09/gIQAteiMDU_story.html %2526a%253D255539%2526po%253D1,00.asp?p=n robo-safety-worries / robo-safety-worries / cars-safety/index.htm cars-safety/index.htm

Q UESTIONS AND A NSWERS Where was Googles Self-Driving Car recently licensed for testing? Nevada What does the rotating cylinder (Lidar) on top of Googles Self-Driving Cars do? Generates a 3D map of the surrounding environment What are the benefits of self-driving cars? 360° vision, faster reaction times, doesnt become sleepy or distracted, eliminates human error, could reduce the number of cars needed, and allows cars to travel safely when closer together.