Our Transport Revolution
Autonomous vehicles have a bright future in the United States. As technology continues to advance, our roads will begin to be filled with vehicles that leverage various benefits for pedestrians, other vehicles, and bicyclists.
In a series of tests in 2014, Google performed several experiments find how sharing the road with autonomous cars will impact bicyclists.
As motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians we all deal with them: The guy who pushes his way into a traffic lane without even glancing; the teenage girl who rolls through an intersection because she’s texting; the middle-aged man who drives his sports car like he’s in a video game.
Do you call 911?
Do the cops even care?
Self-Driving Technology And Data
As today’s automobile manufacturers continue to strive toward more autonomous technology, the amount of data that is collected, processed and shared among the various onboard instruments.
Even the most basic level of self-driving technology requires that cars be outfitted with advanced instruments to read and understand the surrounding environment to make decisions.
A Historically Deadly Year
Last year marked an unfortunate record, as 2016 saw nearly 6,000 pedestrian deaths. This marks the highest total pedestrian deaths than two decades, according to results from a recent study.
This unfortunate record is even more alarming as we see an increase of 25% of pedestrian deaths between 2010 and 2015. Pedestrians now account for the largest portion of traffic fatalities,
For years rumors have been circulating that Apple has been working on autonomous car technology. Much like their competitor, Alphabet, Inc., Apple is known as an innovator in the technology sector.
In late November 2016, Apple revealed that they were “investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation” in a letter they submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Seniors vs. TeensAnswer: Teens
We expect mistakes from young drivers, but the first few years are pretty risky. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), drivers ages 16-19 are three times more likely to crash than drivers over 20.
These novice drivers cause significantly more car accidents than seniors: The United States Census Bureau calculates 12.2 percent of car accidents are the responsibility of teen drivers while 7.5 percent of accidents are caused by drivers over 65.
Our Cities Are Designed Around Roads
As the U.S. economy continues to grow, we are relying on a diverse economy to fuel our nation’s prosperity.
Everything from commercial driving, distribution, and of course residential drivers who commute to and from work rely on inner-city roads.
One problem facing mass-adoption of autonomous cars on our city streets is that road construction,
The Aging American Infrastructure
During the 1950’s and 1960’s, America was investing in construction projects of all sizes to build up the Nation’s infrastructure.
From Federal Highways and public utilities, America was known to have the best roads and transportation systems in the world.
However, today America is witnessing an era of highways that buckle under rush hour and bridges that are deemed unsafe by state engineers.
Past Attempts At Building An Apple Car
Apple had an open project to build their car since early 2014.
However, the car-making business isn’t easy, and according to Bloomberg Apple scaled back their ambitions to take on Detroit.
Dubbed Project Titan, Apple worked to streamline the process to create their physical car.
Are American Cities Ready For Self-Driving Cars?
Self-driving cars could be one of the most powerful forces to impact American cities since the expansion of the interstate system. While the adoption and excitement of self-driving cars are well known, many cities are not ready for how autonomous vehicles will impact their future development.
Many urban development organizations have not considered the impacts that self-driving cars will have on their infrastructure,
Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication Systems
As we race toward fully autonomous vehicles, we are beginning to understand that the only expensive car on the road is the one that can communicate with other cars and objects it’s surrounding like traditional traffic cones.
This technological movement will bring automobile manufacturers together with telecom companies to have individual vehicles communicating with each other in a continuous manner.
Autonomous Car Technology Regulations
As autonomous car technology continues to advance, the number one concern on the minds of automakers and the government alike is public safety.
As technology continues to advance at a faster pace than ever before that state and federal lawmakers, struggle to provide adequate oversight for self-driving car technology.
Earlier in the year federal officials announced that they would be taking the unprecedented step toward providing strict oversight over the software and other features that operate autonomous vehicles.
Autonomous Cars: Mobile Computing Technology
Most drivers across America have dreamt about autonomous cars at one point or another.
Whether from The Jetsons or reading about them in Sci-Fi books, Americans have looked forward to the day when technology would do the tedious (and often dangerous) job of driving for us.
However, the one thing many don’t think about when they dream about self-driving cars is that the computer components of these technological marvels are prone to hacking and viruses just like our laptop and home computer.
Navigating The Future With Care
When we consider how many people die each year from traffic-related accidents, it becomes clear why so many car companies are pushing the development of safer and more reliable self-driving car technology.
The core issue that we have to consider when thinking about the promise of driverless technology is how many people could autonomous vehicles save in the coming years?
Although self driving cars are all the rage these days, one of the biggest limitations of the technology is how the systems are unable to drive on the roads during periods of inclement weather.
The main reason for this is that sometimes the cameras which pick up road dividers and obstacles often can interpret snow and rain as obstructions on the road.
