Highlights Of Robot Car History
Just a few years ago, it was unimaginable for people to think about a robot car. However, with fast changing technology and improvements in car manufacturing methods, today, many car manufacturing companies have began testing robot cars, which do not require a driver sitting at the wheel. Manufacturers, such as General Motors, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Volvo, are conducting tests on robot cars; and GM has claimed that by they will have a driverless car ready for the roads by the year 2018. In the United States, Nevada is one state where driverless car can be driven legally on the roads of the state. |
Sponsored Links:
|
However, the United States is not the only country envisaging robot cars. Even the UK has claimed that they will have robot cars operating on their roads by the year 2056. The Royal Academy of Engineering claims that robotic trucks will be operational on UK roads by the year 2019.
However, when you look at the robot car history, you will realize that this is not a new concept. Mankind has always dreamed about making life and work easier through automation. The first robot car to be exhibited at the World Fair for cars was in the year 1939. The car was designed by Norman Bel Geddes and he named it Futurama. The car was sponsored by GM. This car was a kind of electric car, which was powered by electric circuits implanted in roads and the vehicle could be controlled with the help of radio. Then in the 1980s, people were treated to a vision guided robotic van. This was designed by Ernst Dicksmanns at Munich, Germany. The van was capable of running at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. This led the EU Commission to fund the Eureka Prometheus Project, so that robotic cars could be invented and manufactured.
The 1980s also saw the ALV, or the Autonomous Land Vehicle, developed by the DARPA in the US. This vehicle made use of laser radar, robotic control and computer vision for its operations and could achieve a speed of 30 kilometers per hour. Another robot car developed by HRL Laboratories could travel on difficult and rough terrains at 3 kilometers per hour and this car managed to cover a distance of 600 meters.
The robot cars developed by Daimler Benz managed to operate for over a thousand kilometers on the busy Parisienne highway while speeding up to 130 kilometers per hour. However, these were not fully robotic vehicles and did require some amount of human intervention. But, these cars could drive on free lanes, change lanes and also capable of convoy driving during the test.
Then, in the year 1995, Ernst Dicksmanns designed another robotic car, which traveled 1,600 kilometers from Munich to Copenhagen. This car ran at speeds of over 175 kilometers per hour on the Autobahn and was capable of maneuvering in traffic and bypassing other vehicles on the road.
If you see the robot car history, it is evident that car manufacturers want to have an autonomous car on the roads for people's comfort. No longer will people be fined for using their mobiles while driving a car. They will not have to worry about answering the phone and sending an sms when driving. All this will be done with ease and without any worries about meeting with an accident. Hopefully, when robot cars become a reality, the number of road accidents will reduce and with this the number of fatalities should also reduce. After all, all car lovers hope that while these robotic cars can give us top speeds, they will also have artificial intelligence to avoid situations that could result in a road accident.
More Articles :
Wikipedia: Driverless Car
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driverless_car
|
The history of Apple Computers is really entertaining, considering that this brand is now virtually a household name. The moment people say Apple Computers, immediately Steve Jobs come to mind. In fact, those who do not know the history of Apple Computers may be surprised to learn that this company is the baby of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. 