An autonomous car is a vehicle that can move and navigate independently without human intervention. Autonomous cars use various technologies, such as sensors, cameras, radar, lidar, and artificial intelligence, to recognize their surroundings, avoid obstacles, follow traffic signs, and reach specified destinations.
Autonomous cars have varying degrees of independence, from those that require human supervision to those that can operate without humans at all. Some companies that are developing and testing autonomous cars are Google, Tesla, Ford, Audi, and Volvo.
Autonomous cars are expected to provide benefits such as increasing safety, efficiency, comfort and mobility on the road. However, autonomous cars also face challenges such as ethical, legal, social, and technical issues that need to be overcome before they can be widely accepted by society.
How Autonomous Cars Work?
Autonomous cars work by using various technologies, such as sensors, cameras, radar, lidar, and artificial intelligence, to recognize their surroundings, avoid obstacles, follow traffic signs, and reach specified destinations. The following are some general steps an autonomous car takes to operate:
- First, the autonomous car must determine the destination and route to be taken. This can be done by entering an address or GPS coordinates into the car's navigation system.
- Second, autonomous cars must collect data from multiple sources to build a dynamic three-dimensional (3D) map of the surrounding environment. This data can come from a rotating lidar sensor on the roof of the car, which monitors a distance of 60 meters around the car using a laser beam. This data can also come from radar sensors in the front and rear bumpers of the car, which calculate the distance to obstacles using radio waves. This data can also come from cameras installed in various corners of the car, which record visual images of the surrounding environment. This data can also come from GPS, odometry, and computer vision, which helps determine the car's position and orientation relative to a 3D map.
- Third, autonomous cars must analyze the data they collect to identify objects in their surroundings, such as other vehicles, pedestrians, contours on the road, and everything else that a human driver would take into account when deciding how to drive. This is done using artificial intelligence (AI), which uses machine learning algorithms and neural networks to recognize patterns in data and make predictions about the behavior of those objects. For example, AI can recognize traffic lights, trees, sidewalks, pedestrians, street signs, and other parts of a particular driving environment.
- Fourth, autonomous cars must make decisions about how to drive safely and efficiently based on the data and analysis performed. This involves selecting speed, direction, acceleration, deceleration, braking, and other maneuvers appropriate to the current situation and traffic conditions. It also involves communication with other vehicles via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology, which allows the exchange of information about position, speed, direction, and destination between vehicles or between vehicles and road infrastructure.
- Fifth, autonomous cars must perform control actions to implement the decisions made. This involves the operation of the driver's control systems, such as the steering, accelerator pedal, brake pedal, transmission, and indicators. It also involves monitoring system performance and detecting errors or anomalies that may occur along the way.
That's how autonomous cars work in general. Of course, each autonomous car manufacturer may have different technical specifications and system designs. However, the basic principle is the same: using advanced technology to enable cars to move and navigate autonomously without human intervention.
Availability of Autonomous Cars in the Market
Autonomous cars are still in the development and testing stage by several automotive and technology companies in various countries. However, several countries in Asia, such as India and China, are showing high interest in autonomous cars and have the potential to become the largest markets for this type of vehicle in the future.
According to Ford research, 84 percent of Indians and 78 percent of Chinese see an autonomous car in their future compared to 40 percent in America and 30 percent in the UK1. This may be due to factors such as population density, traffic congestion, air pollution, and lack of driving awareness that make people in these countries more open to the idea of autonomous cars which can provide benefits such as increased safety, efficiency, comfort , and mobility on the road.
