The autonomous car has ceased to be a thing of the future or science fiction to become a reality of our present. Today there are vehicles that are capable of driving by themselves, overtaking, merging, planning the route and parking without human intervention. With all these advances, it won't be long before it is common to see the driver reading the newspaper or talking on the phone instead of having their hands on the steering wheel.
Many of the vehicles that we can acquire today on the market already incorporate assisted parking systems or other technologies that relieve the driver of some of their, until now, usual tasks. This shows that science and technology are only a few steps away from complete autonomy. Throughout the world, tests are already being carried out with cars that circulate autonomously over long distances.
In fact, for some years now, there has been a lot of talk about autonomous, robotic or driverless vehicles. These are capable of imitating human handling and control capabilities and, at the same time, perceiving the environment around them and navigating accordingly. The driver will only have to choose the destination without needing to activate any other mechanical operation for the vehicle to start moving.
This is possible thanks to advances in technology, which has transformed normal cars into intelligent and autonomous vehicles. To achieve this, the intervention of three types of systems is necessary, which, although different, are necessarily connected to each other.
Firstly, to make the car independent, it needs to be able to locate itself in space; that is, it must place itself on a map and detect urban elements (buildings, roundabouts, etc.). For this, highly sophisticated GPS systems are used. Secondly, it incorporates a dynamic recognition system to identify strange objects or unexpected elements on the journey; for example, obstacles that may be on the road, pedestrians, rain... In this case, cars use cameras, lasers and sensors that offer real-time information about what is happening around them.
And, finally, a program that uses the information it receives from the other systems to act accordingly; that is, it must drive the car by making it accelerate, brake, turn, overtake... when convenient. The latter is possible thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning systems (automatic learning, in Spanish) that make a machine act and think almost like a human being would. Therefore, when the autonomous car fully evolves, it will not only know how to drive respecting the established rules, as well or better than most people, but it will have processed the most common customs and infractions in each area or country to instantly apply solutions to any unforeseen event; such as a pedestrian crossing outside the established crosswalk.
"Advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning make a machine act and think, almost, like a human being would."As we said, today there are already vehicles that incorporate some of these autonomous driving systems and work is being done to ensure that the driver does not have to intervene at all in driving. Therefore, based on this, SAE International (Society of Automotive Engineers) has established five levels that classify cars according to their independence. The first three steps of this scale of increasing automation are occupied by technologies that require human intervention in case of emergency. For example, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and other similar devices would belong to level one. However, level two systems already use the functions of the technologies located on the first step to automate more complex driving tasks (this is the maximum degree of automation achieved in vehicles that can be purchased today on the market).
Afterwards, level three systems will allow the driver to activate the autopilot in certain situations, such as during a traffic jam on a highway. The next two steps present profound differences from the previous ones, as they operate almost without human assistance. Specifically, level four systems (high automation) will take care of all aspects of dynamic driving, but will act only in very strictly defined situations. For example, in a closed parking lot or on highway lanes reserved for vehicles of that type. And finally, at the top is level five, the fully automated vehicle in which the driver becomes a mere passenger.
WILL REDUCE THE ACCIDENT RATE
Although self-driving cars are not yet freely roaming the roads or in dealership showrooms, there is already talk of how they will completely transform the driver's experience and all the advantages they will bring. One of them, the most commented on, is the increase in road safety. According to data from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), in 2016 there were 1,038 fatal accidents in Spain in which 1,160 people lost their lives and 5,067 suffered serious injuries. It is also estimated that in 90% of cases, accidents were caused by human error. In this sense, independent driving systems will reduce the volume of risk situations such as speeding, incorrect overtaking, run-offs… and, therefore, will help reduce the accident rate. It is estimated that, by 2050, thanks to the widespread use of autonomous cars, accident rates can be reduced by more than 80%.
Mobility will also improve. For example, people who have a physical impediment to driving or those who are too old or young to do so will be able to move without problems since the car will do everything for them. This technology will provide mobility solutions to groups that until now could not drive a vehicle.
It is also expected that traffic within large cities will be more fluid. Cars will circulate in a synchronized manner, avoiding traffic jams and making better use of road space. Double parking will cease to exist, for example, because cars will be able to continue their journey after the passenger has gotten out.
Another important aspect is fuel efficiency, as vehicles will be designed with the aim of optimizing fuel consumption. In addition, by avoiding sudden accelerations, braking, or abrupt changes in speed, CO2 emissions into the atmosphere will also be reduced. Therefore, cars will be less polluting.
We also cannot forget the comfort it will provide for the driver not having to be concentrated on driving or worried about traffic. Their experience as a driver will undergo a radical change, and they will be able to use their commutes to perform other types of activities: reading, talking on the phone, eating, or watching a movie. Thus, the interior of cars will adapt to become a space for leisure or rest.
"Everything indicates that by 2020, vehicles with certain levels of autonomous driving will be accessible in the general market."Taking all this into account, the automotive industry has been researching and working for years on the development of self-driving vehicles. This is the case, for example, of Toyota, which has been researching autonomous driving systems for 10 years. According to Enrique Centeno, PR & Corporate Affairs GM of Toyota Spain, these vehicles are in full swing and "everything indicates that by 2020, vehicles with certain levels of autonomous driving will be accessible in the general market."
The Japanese manufacturer recently presented the second generation of its advanced safety research vehicle through the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), a company created in late 2015 that focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous driving, and also collaborates with Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). "This autonomous vehicle, still in the testing phase, will serve to explore a wide variety of functions related to autonomous driving," explains Centeno. Its teams in the U.S. and Japan are working to advance the sophistication of these systems.
In this race is also Apple, which has recently confirmed, through its CEO Tim Cook, that it is developing an automatic driving system. However, it has not revealed whether it is only a program or if they are building a car themselves. "We are working on autonomous systems and, logically, among them is one for cars; but there are more. They are among the most complex artificial intelligence projects we are doing," he said in June of this year.
IN 2020 AUTONOMOUS CARS WILL BE ON THE MARKET
Tesla has also announced that in two years all its cars will be completely autonomous. In their case, they already market a semi-autonomous car called the Tesla S. This model incorporates the Autopilot 2.0 system which, with the help of cameras and sensors, takes over from the driver. However, it is not fully autonomous driving but assisted, since to change lanes the driver must indicate it with the turn signal, although the vehicle does the rest by itself.
For its part, Audi presented at the beginning of 2017 the Audi Q7, an autonomous car developed together with the Nvidia company. This bases its automated driving system, called PilotNet, on artificial intelligence. The vehicle learns and develops its autonomy based on what the human driver teaches it. Although it will be some time before we see it on the roads, next year an A8 equipped with technology that will elevate the car to the semi-autonomous level will be available.
Google has also been one of the pioneers in working on this type of automobile; in fact, it started the project in 2009 and did its first tests in 2012. Such is the importance of automatic cars for the American giant that it has created Waymo, a company specialized in the development of driverless driving systems within the Alphabet conglomerate.
In Google's case, as we said, in 2012 it made autonomous cars available to its employees for them to carry out tests from home to work. In April of this year, it did its first open test to the public in the city of Phoenix, in the United States. The company made 100 vehicles (without steering wheels or pedals) available to citizens to check what the real needs of users were and what they expected from a car with these characteristics.
In Europe, the "European Truck Platooning Challenge 2016" was carried out, through which a group of autonomous trucks drove for several days on the continent's roads. Specifically, three Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks, connected by wifi and automated, traveled from Stuttgart to the city of Rotterdam.
And in Spain, in 2015, a car made the 599-kilometer journey between Madrid and Vigo without the driver intervening in the drive. This was a prototype from the Peugeot-Citroën laboratory and incorporated a technology called PSA that allows driving on highways, motorways, and expressways in autonomous mode, managing speed, lane changes, and overtakes with the supervision of a driver, but without their direct intervention.
NEW USES OF SPACE
In short, companies are still in the development and experimentation phase with self-driving cars. However, technology is advancing very quickly and everything indicates that by 2050, level five of total driving autonomy will be reached. Before that, as has been happening, cars will gradually incorporate new systems that will allow us to be partially distracted from driving.
When the time comes, autonomous cars will be a revolution not only in driving but also in people's lives and in the configuration and layout of cities and roads. All these changes require planning and a process of adaptation to the new context.
For example, the reduction in traffic volume will allow for a reduction in the space dedicated to car circulation. According to expert Blaine Leonard in statements to SmartCitiesDive, on American highways today, about 2,000 cars can circulate per hour. With the new autonomous systems, where driving is more efficient, this could rise to 3,000 or 3,500 per hour.
The reduction in traffic volume will allow for a reduction in the space dedicated to car circulation.The same happens with parking spaces. The expert points out that 30% of traffic in the business districts of San Francisco or Los Angeles is due to people looking for a spot to park their vehicle. If autonomous cars can drive themselves to a spot outside the center, which would also be cheaper, it would not be necessary to dedicate so much space to parking spaces. Furthermore, systems such as paid parking zones or resident zones would no longer be needed.
If this were to happen, there would also be more free space in cities, and this could be reused for new purposes. For example, sidewalks could be widened, or more parks, leisure areas, culture… could be built. In fact, Kinder Baumgardner, head of the multinational SWA's architecture studio in Houston, proposes reusing underground parking lots for housing. These would be cheaper due to the lack of natural light, but surely much more spacious than a normal house on the surface.
The structure of roads and their elements will also have to adapt to the new context. Thus, it will be important for lane separation lines to be well painted so that cars can "see" better; while traffic signs will no longer be necessary because vehicles will perfectly know which exit to take and at what speed they should go.
Although the biggest engineering feat may be, perhaps, equipping road layouts with fiber optics and sensors that collect information and share it with vehicles circulating on that stretch. In Utah, United States, they have been introducing this system on their roads for 20 years, and in Ohio, as part of a smart cities project, the State will spend 15 million dollars to install fiber and carry out various tests in this field.
It is also thought that with the reduction of traffic and the comfort of commuting, cities will expand, and more people will be willing to live outside the center and commute daily to work.
By now it is clear that autonomous cars will bring with them a large number of changes and benefits; but to achieve this, a series of obstacles must first be overcome. One of the most important, which puts the safety of occupants at risk, is the reliability and precision of road maps. High-definition mapping is one of the essential pieces for the correct functioning of an autonomous car. Without this, the car does not know where to go, what obstacles it may encounter on its way, or which lane of the highway it is in to overtake. Centimeter precision and real-time information are fundamental; for this, the companies that develop maps and GPS systems must improve and refine their products.
Another issue to take into account is the perception of this type of vehicle and its penetration capacity within society. According to data from the Study on autonomous and connected cars prepared by Coches.net, more than half of the Spanish drivers surveyed (55%) are reluctant to use this type of technology for the mere fact that they like to drive. These are followed by those who feel unprotected (25%), those who are concerned about possible mechanical or electrical failures (15%), and those who think it will be too expensive (5%). As is normal, all this will evolve, but it is possible that, at first, the introduction of vehicles will be slower.
Finally, but no less important, it is necessary for governments to establish an adequate legal framework that makes automatic driving possible. As of today, a Vienna Convention on Road Traffic from 1968 dictates that drivers must maintain control of their vehicle at all times and rules out highly automated driving. Although there is an intention to modify this rule, the debate is on the table and countries must legislate their respective laws regarding this matter. Where more progress has been made is, for example, in the state of Texas, where the circulation of driverless cars is already permitted. However, at a European level, much remains to be done.
Spain did not adhere to the Vienna Convention, so, in theory, autonomous vehicles can circulate freely. Even so, luckily, it is being one of the first countries to formally bet on the development of this technology and since 2015 it allows conducting research tests or trials with autonomous vehicles on roads open to traffic. In addition, aware of the technological advances in this sector, the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) has regulated the use of assisted parking assistance systems without driver intervention. Those people who are going to use these vehicles exclusively will be exempt from taking the parking test in the exam to obtain a driving license. Although, the truth is, it is rather anecdotal, since for now there are not many driving schools that have this type of cars in their fleet.
In addition, at the beginning of this year, the DGT announced that it was already working on a first regulation that regulates this type of vehicles. This will include chapters dedicated to automated driving, it will talk about definitions, requirements… and it will be flexible and definitive enough to offer legal certainty that adapts to industry changes. The document will be a first step to lay the foundations for the regulation of autonomous vehicles in Spain. Although it is expected to see the light in 2017, it is believed that it will not be approved until 2018 or 2019.
The speed at which technology evolves will be the engine for all these conditions to be resolved with the same speed. It will be necessary, since the arrival of autonomous cars is imminent. The world is preparing and the future does not wait.
Written by: Eva Fernández
ONTHEROAD is a magazine that wants to become an innovative space for generating ideas and debate around the universe of mobility. Promoted by Abertis, a world leader in infrastructure management at the service of mobility and communications, ONTHEROAD wants to participate in conversations, debates, initiatives and the search for solutions for the new challenges of this constantly evolving world.
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