| Imagine this scenario: you climb into your car to | | | | sensors to identify the presence of other cars. If |
| begin your morning commute to the office. You | | | | you attempt to move into a lane occupied by |
| fasten your seat belt, start your vehicle, and | | | | another, the system will either warn you, apply |
| begin driving. Before long, you've left your | | | | braking power, or influence steering control. |
| neighborhood behind and have merged onto the | | | | This type of technology is being used (on an |
| city streets. You take out your newspaper and | | | | experimental platform) to allow cars to |
| begin reading, confident that your car will reach | | | | communicate and network with buildings, traffic |
| your destination without requiring any manual input | | | | lights, and other infrastructure. Data is shared |
| from you. | | | | among them to help motorists avoid collisions and |
| What I've just described may seem laughably | | | | congestion. |
| close to science fiction. In reality, the automotive | | | | The Automotive Safety Net |
| technology needed to accomplish most of the | | | | Adaptive cruise control systems already apply |
| above is already in development. Automakers are | | | | braking power given a driver's proximity to |
| integrating artificial intelligence within their | | | | objects in his or her path. A few automakers are |
| respective fleets that allow their vehicles to avoid | | | | using that same technology to add an additional |
| traffic collisions, including those that involve | | | | level of safety. |
| pedestrians. | | | | Sensors and radar technology are installed within |
| Below, we'll explore a few of these "futuristic" | | | | the automobiles. These devices scan the |
| technologies. I'll describe how automobiles are | | | | landscape and note the positions of other vehicles. |
| communicating with other vehicles and the | | | | If necessary, the computer will apply the brakes |
| surrounding infrastructure in order to avoid | | | | to prevent a collision. If a collision is unavoidable, |
| accidents and reduce road congestion. You may | | | | the computer will adjust the seats to minimize the |
| be surprised by how close we are to enjoying a | | | | impact felt by the motorist. |
| car-controlled driving experience. | | | | A Little Help Steering |
| Communicating And Networking | | | | The technology used in lane change warning |
| The main reason motorists get involved in | | | | systems is being expanded to give more steering |
| accidents, heavy traffic conditions, and similar road | | | | control to automobiles. For example, if you drift |
| problems is due to a lack of timely information. | | | | into another lane without engaging your turn |
| For example, another driver might run through a | | | | indicator, your car's computer can apply the |
| red light. That often results in a collision because | | | | brakes on one side. That will slowly move your |
| other drivers are unprepared. Road congestion | | | | vehicle back into your lane. It won't be long |
| occurs because many motorists take the same | | | | before such technology enables your car to make |
| streets. If they had access to information that | | | | turns and parallel park on its own. |
| warned them of traffic, many would take | | | | While a fully automated driving experience is still |
| alternate routes. | | | | decades away, automakers are designing robust |
| A lot of automobiles are already equipped with | | | | systems that reduce the level of input required |
| devices that communicate with other vehicles. For | | | | from us. In our lifetime, we are likely to witness a |
| example, lane change warning systems use | | | | significant evolution in automotive intelligence. |