Driverless cars will unclog traffic, reduce stress, save lives

By Dick Pelletier

          Imagine making the 275-mile trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in tomorrow’s driverless car. Hop in, tell the on-board computer your destination, and off you go. Traveling at speeds up to 140 mph, you kick back, read a newspaper, browse the Internet, watch TV, or take a nap. In about two hours, you arrive in LA relaxed and ready for a great day.

     The driverless car is an emerging family of technologies, ultimately aimed at a full “taxi-like” experience for car users. This, together with alternative fuel systems are the main advances in transportation expected to unfold in the next decade.

     Challenges in realizing this vision, for the most part, fall into technical and social areas. Technical problems include developing the control systems required to make such a car work. Social issues involve getting people to trust a self-driving car, and convincing legislators to allow computer-driven vehicles on the roads.

     The Pentagon’s DARPA Grand Challenge hopes to solve many of the technical problems. In 2004, entrepreneurs were challenged to build a car that would drive itself across the desert from California to Nevada; however no one finished the race. When repeated in 2005 though, an impressive four cars crossed the finish line.

     The third Grand Challenge, scheduled for November 2007, will shift to city streets where robot cars must complete a 60-mile course in 6-hours while obeying traffic laws and avoiding collisions. Stanford’s Sebastian Thrun, winner of the 2005 race, believes reliable urban robot driving could become commonplace as early as the next decade. “I predict during my lifetime,” Thrun says, “I’ll be driven by a car, and will trust that car more than I trust myself.”

     Driverless cars calculate conditions such as steering, braking, and speed; and correlate road conditions. Future versions will be equipped with “natural voice” speech-recognition systems and armed with impressive artificial intelligence. Programmed with the right personality, experts say, you and your driverless car will become good friends.

     Alternate fuels, like ethanol and hydrogen, could free us from the tyranny of oil. In his recent trip to Brazil, President Bush pledged to reduce America’s oil consumption 10-percent by 2017 with ethanol produced from corn. And at a recent European event, a car powered by hydrogen fuel cells won the Energy Globe Award by driving 5,384 kilometers on 0.27 kg of hydrogen, equal to one liter of gasoline.

     Advances in transportation promise more environmentally-friendly technologies, but with a projected 500-million cars worldwide by 2010, unbearable congestion will be everywhere. The solution: driverless cars that communicate with each other. By maintaining exact proper distances at maximum speeds, they optimize road capacity. Say goodbye to gridlock, tailgating, and road rage. The benefits derived from driverless cars are enormous. They include:

·         Eliminate most of the 1.2-million annual traffic deaths worldwide.

·         Provide mobility to the elderly and handicapped.

·         Enable vehicles to run errands with or without passengers aboard.

·         End driving stress.

     Tomorrow’s driverless cars will carry us to our destinations accident-free. They will speak perfect “human” and express a true interest in our wellbeing. Car lovers see this as a dream come true. So get ready to enjoy this most amazing “magical future.”

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.