General Motors will put a car on the road that can approximately drive itself. Self driving car uses radar and cameras to steer the car and keep it between lane lines. The radar keeps the car a safe distance from cars ahead of it, and it will brake to a complete stop if necessary.
Many auto makers already offer radar guided cruise control systems that keep their cars a safe detachment from other vehicles and even stop before a crash. They also have systems that warn drivers if they’re traveling out of their lane. The steering control is the big additional piece of electrical controls and active safety technology.
Lot of development work still needs to be done about road conditions, reaction of sensors, visibility of lane lines and how the system will interrelate with the driver, who still would be in control and can easily override the computer system. GM could sell the system well before the end of the decade.
In this system, people will be able to take their hands off the wheel on a throughway and let the car do the work.GM is conscious that the system could make drivers complacent; turning over control to the car even though the system isn’t designed.
Engineers say there are many obstacles to cars that totally drive themselves, counting how they respond to cars and trucks that don’t have the technology.
Honda said it was working on short range communications technology that would let a car detect a pedestrian with a smart phone. The system could prevent car crashes by warning both the driver and the pedestrian.
On Tuesday, Nissan said it wants to make cars that drive themselves by 2020. The corporation is working on the system with numerous universities and has a proving ground for independent cars near its headquarters in Japan.
