Drive or Be Driven: Google’s Driverless Car

It’s a sunny day in southern California, and Steve Mahan decides to go for a drive with a few friends. He jumps in the driver’s seat, sets off to a nearby Taco Bell, picks up some lunch and drives home. All appears to be normal until you consider the fact that Mahan isn’t legally allowed to drive.

The reason why Mahan doesn’t have a license is neither because he has racked up too many DUI convictions, nor because he hasn’t taken the necessary courses and the driving exams. The simple fact is that Mahan has lost 95% of his vision; he is legally blind and barred from driving. But none of this matters since the car he is driving is a highly modified Toyota Prius sporting over $150,000 in radar and GPS equipment as well as several Google decals.

The Google driverless car program has 10 cars in its arsenal; most of which are hybrids because of their computer controlled critical drive train systems, making computer integration simpler. As of August 2012, Google’s fleet has collectively logged over 500,000 accident free and autonomous kilometers. Although Google hasn’t disclosed all the systems it employs to keep its cars running smoothly, the corporation has mentioned that it uses a $70,000 laser-radar (LIDAR) system. This equipment is mounted on the roof to detect obstacles around the car to create a highly accurate3-D map of its current surroundings. Four additional radars are installed at the front, at the back and on each side of the car to monitor the driving environment. Google’s system also relies on its detailed map of the route as a complement to a GPS system since the latter alone would be several meters off. Google’s driverless cars are even programmed to adapt to the real world conditions at four-way intersections and the attitudes of other motorists. Last week, Anthony Levandowski, the project manager of Google’s driverless car program, stated that his team plans to release the technology to the general public in the next five years. Whether Google releases a full turn-key system or only the software has yet to be determined. Google’s research raises an important point; this point, which many automakers know already, is the most dangerous component of any car lies between the seat and the steering wheel – the driver.

John Maddox, an official of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), estimates that 93% of all road accidents are caused by the driver. By automating many critical driving tasks, it should be possible to make cars safer. The overall safety of any car is not only determined by its crash test ratings, but also any additional driver assist systems, such as traction control and ABS (anti-lock braking system). Both of these systems are very effective; a NTSB study found that ABS systems reduced stopping distance by up to 22% on loose surfaces. This is the difference between a close call and a trip to the emergency room. Most luxury automakers now offer additional driver assist systems such as adaptive cruise control which employs front-mounted radar to read the distance of the car ahead of you, telling the car to brake automatically should you get too close. Nearly all adaptive cruise control systems only work on the highway, and above a speed of around 60 km/h. When the car drops below that speed, manual intervention is needed to prevent a collision. Volvo recently went a step further than this, equipping their high-end cars with a system that brakes automatically to avoid collisions even at a lower speed, known as “city safety”. Unlike most adaptive cruise control systems, city safety is primarily used when driving around town. Should the driver fail to respond when presented with a stationary obstacle blocking the car’s path, the system automatically deactivates the throttle and applies the brakes, avoiding a potential collision.

Don’t be too impressed yet – the aforementioned systems are just a start. As technology improves and costs decline, we should expect to see further shifts towards automation in vehicles. In ten years, Volvo hopes to bring to market a system that allows cars to electronically “join” a convoy on the highway. A manually-driven large truck housed with necessary sensors, wireless transmitters and computing equipment acts as the leader of the convoy. The cars in tow will automatically follow at a uniform distance and all brake when the leader stops. Since the cars can follow closer to each other than currently allowed, Volvo estimates a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption as well as the obvious safety benefits. Recently, Volvo tested their system on a 125 km long highway drive in Spain, where it performed brilliantly.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, driverless cars will be in the hands of consumers within the next 20 to 30 years. This represents an invaluable breakthrough for people like Steve Mahan, who have completely lost the ability to drive. Not to mention the countless lives saved through the elimination of driver error on our roads.

As an aspiring electrical engineer, I’m supposed to be excited about these technological advancements. I’m supposed to be working towards developing new software and advanced sensing equipment to make automation more user-friendly. I’m supposed to be dreaming of a year when we all get into our own driverless cars and are whisked away to our destinations without any effort.

The truth is, however, I’m dreading the day when the driverless cars take over allowing me to spend my commute surfing Facebook instead of being physically involved with the sport of driving. At the core of a proper driving experience, I believe that there is intensely liberating and gratifying sensation. Case in point – I used to own an old, beat up, late 80’s Jaguar sedan. It didn’t have a GPS system, iPod connectivity, any form of traction control or ABS. It did, however, teach me more about car control and vehicle dynamics than any amount of electronic assistance could have done. Cars today simply can’t teach us such a lesson.

Even at the risk of sounding too philosophical, I’d like to leave you with the following: Driving was and still is an intricate part of the human experience. As Joni Mitchell sang, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”, so go out and embrace the sport of driving while it’s still possible.