In the world of autonomous vehicles, Pittsburgh and Silicon Valley are bustling hubs of development and testing.
But ask those involved in self-driving vehicles when we might actually see them carrying passengers in every city, and you’ll get an almost universal answer: Not anytime soon.
An optimistic assessment is 10 years. Many others say decades as researchers try to conquer a number of obstacles. The vehicles themselves will debut in limited, well-mapped areas within cities and spread outward.
The fatal crash in Arizona involving an Uber autonomous vehicle in March slowed progress, largely because it hurt the public’s perception of the safety of vehicles.
Companies slowed research to be more careful. Google’s Waymo, for instance, decided not to launch a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in the Phoenix area and will rely on human backup drivers to ferry passengers, at least for now.
Here are the problems that researchers must overcome to start giving rides without humans behind the wheel:
SNOW AND WEATHER
When it’s heavy enough to cover the pavement, snow blocks the view of lane lines that vehicle cameras use to find their way. Researchers so far haven’t figured out a way around this. That’s why much of the testing is done in warm-weather climates such as Arizona and California.
Heavy snow, rain, fog and sandstorms can obstruct the view of cameras. Light beams sent out by laser sensors can bounce off snowflakes and think they are obstacles. Radar can see through the weather, but it doesn’t show the shape of an object needed for computers to figure out what it is.
“It’s like losing part of your vision,” says Raj Rajkumar, an electrical and computer engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
Esta historia es de la edición February 8, 2019 de AppleMagazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 8, 2019 de AppleMagazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
CALIFORNIA SUES EXXONMOBIL AND SAYS IT LIED ABOUT PLASTICS RECYCLING
California sued ExxonMobil this week, alleging the oil giant deceived the public for half a century by promising that the plastics it produced would be recycled.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SEEKS TO BAN CHINESE, RUSSIAN TECH IN US AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
The Commerce Department said this week it’s seeking a ban on the sale of connected and autonomous vehicles in the U.S. that are equipped with Chinese and Russian software and hardware with the stated goal of protecting national security and U.S. drivers. `
GOOGLE BEGINS ITS DEFENSE IN ANTITRUST CASE ALLEGING MONOPOLY OVER ADVERTISING TECHNOLOGY
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
PHONE DEAL FOR VISITING FANS AT 2026 WORLD CUP PART OF VERIZON SPONSOR PACT WITH FIFA
Soccer fans arriving in North America for the 2026 World Cup have been promised help with their cell phone coverage from Verizon as part of a sponsor deal with FIFA announced this week.
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S 'MEGALOPOLIS' IS ONE FROM THE HEART
Francis Ford Coppola believes he can stop time. It’s not just a quality of the protagonist of Coppola’s new film “Megalopolis,” a visionary architect named Cesar Catilina ( Adam Driver ) who, by barking “Time, stop!” can temporarily freeze the world for a moment before restoring it with a snap of his fingers.
BEFORE YOU SIGN UP FOR A STORE CREDIT CARD, KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO
When Mykail James was 19 and working a holiday job at Victoria’s Secret, she took out a store credit card with a $2,000 credit line.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SUES VISA, ALLEGES THE CARD ISSUER MONOPOLIZES DEBIT CARD MARKETS
The U.S. Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, alleging that the financial services behemoth uses its size and dominance to stifle competition in the debit card market, costing consumers and businesses billions of dollars.
STRIKE BY MORE THAN 1,000 SAMSUNG WORKERS ENTERS A THIRD WEEK IN INDIA
A strike by more than 1,000 workers at a Samsung India Electronics plant has entered its third week, and management is at an impasse over their demands for recognition of the employees’ union and higher pay, a workers union spokesman said,
APPLE BEGINS TESTING AI SOFTWARE DESIGNED TO BRING A SMARTER SIRI TO THE IPHONE 16
Apple is giving more people the chance to test a software update that will implant artificial intelligence into its virtual assistant Siri and automate a variety of tedious tasks on the latest iPhone coming out.
CALIFORNIA BECOMES LATEST STATE TO RESTRICT STUDENT SMARTPHONE USE AT SCHOOL
School districts in California will have to create rules restricting student smartphone use under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed this week.