Hello World.
I'm Imagination.
Today I am going to talk about Self-driving
cars.
A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous
vehicle (AV), connected and autonomous vehicle
(CAV), driverless car, robocar, or robotic
car, is a vehicle that is capable of sensing
its environment and moving safely with little
or no human input.
Self-driving cars combine a variety of sensors
to perceive their surroundings, such as radar,
lidar, sonar, GPS, odometry, and inertial
measurement units.
Advanced control systems interpret sensory
information to identify appropriate navigation
paths, as well as obstacles and relevant signage.
What’s the first major benefit of a self-driving
car service?
It may become much easier to find a parking
spot.
Actually, you might never need to think about
parking a car in the first place.
Your car will simply drop you off, and continue
on its way to find another passenger.
And it can continue to go all day until it
needs a recharge.
As of July 2019, experts believe it will be
at least 10-12 more years before completely
autonomous vehicles will be sold to private
consumers.
Self-driving cars are being developed for
a few main reasons.
Firstly, the goal is to remove the possibility
of human error on the roads and improve safety.
Driverless cars will also dramatically increase
transportation efficiency because they do
not need to be parked – they can constantly
be in use by society.
Tesla will be able to make its vehicles completely
autonomous by the end of 2020, founder Elon
Musk has said.
It was already "very close" to achieving the
basic requirements of this "level-five" autonomy,
which requires no driver input, he said.
Tesla's current, level-two Autopilot requires
the driver to remain alert and ready to act,
with hands on the wheel.
But a future software update could activate
level-five autonomy in the cars - with no
new hardware, he said.
Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing says
it plans to operate more than a million self-driving
vehicles by 2030.
The robotaxis are to be deployed in places
where ride-hailing drivers are less available,
according to Meng Xing, Didi’s chief operating
officer.
It is expensive to own and maintain a personal
vehicle.
Driverless cars come with the possibility
of cheap and convenient transport.
Ride services like Uber will probably own
fleets of driverless cars, and without the
option of human drivers to pay, the running
costs of such a fleet would be ridiculously
low.
Self-driving electric cars running on renewable
energy will cost almost nothing to operate.
If you can summon them and get to your destination
in just a few minutes, what would you need
your own car for?
Driverless cars can reduce harmful emissions
by up to 60%.
Furthermore, these cars can be programmed
to maximize the potential reductions, which
is amazing news for the environmentally conscious
and anyone who wants to leave a minimum impact
on Mother Earth.
Today, cities are designed for cars.
Roads and highways have taken over, and cities
have become less and less pedestrian-friendly.
The advent of driverless cars could bring
a shift to this phenomenon, reverting city
design back to being of and for the people.
More precise driverless cars mean narrower
streets, with larger spaces for pedestrians.
Fewer cars mean fewer traffic jams.
Today’s cars are not user-friendly for the
elderly or disabled, or anyone else who may
have difficulty getting around.
Paratransit services with wheelchair accommodation—or
even hospital bed accommodation—and cars
with Braille buttons will be normal.
And the smart driverless car will know how
to find the easiest place for its passengers
to board or alight from, making their lives
easier.
Not having to drive means you can sit in your
car and work on your way to the office.
You can also choose to make the driverless
car your office, driving around to clients,
and having meetings on the go.
The fact that we have driverless cars means
that vans, trucks, and buses can also be driverless.
These can be converted into actual offices
or stores.
You can have a business model where clients
order up service and it drives to them.
The need for a short commute to work is one
of the main reasons why people live close
to towns.
If people do not need to drive to work, they
would be more inclined to live further away
and just relax on the commute to and from
work, without the craziness of traffic jams.
That's all for today.
Thanks for watching.
