In the fast lane: Volvo test cars can handle lane following, speed adaption and merging traffic A future containing self-driving cars is not very far away according to internet giant Google, which already has a prototype on the streets.
In a new post on the company’s official blog, the search engine provider showed off the software it has created and is testing in cars on the streets of California, where the company is based.
Chris Urmson, director of the self-driving car project at Google, said: “Since our last update, we’ve logged thousands of miles on the streets of our hometown of Mountain View. A mile of city driving is much more complex than a mile of freeway driving, with hundreds of different objects moving according to different rules of the road in a small area.
“We’ve improved our software so it can detect hundreds of distinct objects simultaneously – pedestrians, buses, a stop sign held up by a crossing guard, or a cyclist making gestures that indicate a possible turn. A self-driving vehicle can pay attention to all of these things in a way that a human can’t – and it never gets tired or distracted.”
A self-driving car is just one of the futuristic projects that Google is working on as part of the company’s X Lab – from which Google Glass, the wearable headset that links with your smartphone, originated.
The technology firm is also experimenting with weather balloons that contain a WiFi signal in order to bring internet access to remote parts of the world.
“Our vehicles have now logged nearly 700,000 autonomous miles, and with every passing mile we’re growing more optimistic that we’re heading toward an achievable goal – a vehicle that operates fully without human intervention,” said Urmson, who claimed that the company’s computers are able to comfortably predict what happens on city streets.
The self-driving car project has been in existence for four years and came about as a response to World Health Organisation figures that more than a million people are killed in road traffic accidents each year.
Meanwhile, Swedish carmaker Volvo is progressing its own research into self-driving technology, with 100 self-driving Volvos being tested on public roads in everyday driving conditions in Gothenburg.
Erik Coelingh, technical specialist at Volvo Car Group, said: “The test cars are now able to handle lane following, speed adaption and merging traffic by themselves. This is an important step towards our aim that the final cars will be able to drive the whole test route in highly autonomous mode.
“The technology, which will be called Autopilot, enables the driver to hand over driving to the vehicle.”
The Drive Me project involves all the key players in the city of Gothenburg, including legislators, transport authorities, vehicle manufacturers and customers. The customers will drive the 100 cars in everyday driving conditions on approximately 50kms of selected roads in and around Gothenburg. These roads are typical commuter arteries, including motorway conditions and frequent queues. The project also includes fully automated parking, without a driver in the car.
This allows the driver to walk away from the car at the parking entrance while the vehicle finds a vacant spot and parks by itself.
“Our smart vehicles are a key part of the solution, but a broad societal approach is vital to offer sustainable personal mobility in the future. This cross-functional co-operation is key to a successful implementation of self-driving vehicles,” said Coelingh.
The first cars are expected to be on the roads in Gothenburg by 2017.
Attraction of Volvo
Volvo has completed a project using magnets in the road to help determine the position of a car. The research could speed up the implementation of self-driving vehicles.
Volvo created a 100m test track in Gothenburg with a pattern of round ferrite magnets 200mm below the surface. The car was equipped with magnetic field sensors. The research was designed to evaluate issues such as detection range, reliability, durability, cost and the impact on road maintenance.
“The magnets create an invisible ‘railway’ that paves the way for a positioning inaccuracy of less than one decimetre. We have tested the technology at a variety of speeds and the results so far are promising,” said Jonas Ekmark, preventive safety leader at Volvo.