Self-Driving Archives - Gizmochina

Huawei unveils autonomous parking feature at press conference of Luxeed S7

Debasish — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:13:46 +0000

During the recent press conference of the Luxeed S7, Huawei’s CEO, Yu Chengdong, proudly introduced its autonomous parking feature. The accompanying six-minute video showcased two significant aspects: valet parking and one-click summoning.

CEO Yu Chengdong demonstrates impressive autonomy capabilities of the system

The valet parking function allows the driver to confidently exit the vehicle as it autonomously navigates to the designated parking space. The vehicle’s autonomous behavior include following the road, activating turn signals, and responding dynamically to pedestrians and other vehicles by either slowing down or braking.

Notably, the autonomous vehicle operates at a considerable speed, reaching up to 20 km/h in favorable road conditions. It adeptly handles complex maneuvers, smoothly navigating multi-curves with ease. In narrow sections, encountering oncoming traffic prompts the vehicle to proactively reverse. It showcases the level of sophistication and safety of the system.

Upon reaching the designated parking space, the vehicle autonomously completes the parking process. The valet parking feature makes sense because it not only matches but exceeds the efficiency of many human drivers.

Additionally, the one-click recall feature allows users to remotely summon their vehicle with a simple command via a mobile phone. The car responds by activating its driving function, autonomously navigating to the summoner’s location. The parking lot shown in the video isn’t really easy to navigate. It demonstrated the flexibility and the ability of the system to navigate through diverse road conditions, including narrow spaces.

Auto-pilot Anxiety: Consumer Confidence in Self-Driving Cars Declines for Second Year in a Row

Oğuz Çakır — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 00:19:59 +0000

The automobile industry continues to adapt to time and advancing technology. The latest pinnacle of this development is self-driving cars. Many brands are chasing this technology, which allows for a journey without the driver’s intervention. Users have been gradually getting accustomed to the presence of self-driving cars in our lives and have been watching its progress with anticipation. However, a recent study by J.D. Power indicates that consumer confidence in fully automated, self-driving vehicles is on the decline. Here are the details…

Consumer Confidence in Self-Driving Cars Declines for Second Year in a Row

Self-driving vehicles have been a part of our lives for some time now and their popularity continues to grow. However, as their usage increases, so does the number of incidents involving them. News of accidents involving these cars frequently becomes a trending topic on the internet and social media. Naturally, this impacts societal psychology.

A recent study by J.D. Power found that consumer confidence in fully automated, self-driving vehicles has declined for the second consecutive year. On a scale of 100, trust points went down by 2 points to 37 this year, after already dropping by 5 points last year. The report says people are not ready for self-driving cars in many ways.

They feel least comfortable riding in one or using self-driving buses and trains. Despite the decline in consumer confidence, the study also found that consumers are more open to self-driving cars if they have had experience riding in one. For example, 67% of respondents who had ridden in a robotaxi expressed confidence in the technology.

Of course, this fear won’t change anything. Autonomous-driving vehicles are already reaching more users every day, and it doesn’t seem like users’ fears will alter this trend. Admittedly, this technology isn’t perfect today, which explains why people might feel this way. However, it’s worth noting that self-driving is a relatively new technology. There’s still much room for improvement, and regardless, the future belongs to autonomous technologies.

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Self-Driving Trouble: You Can Be Responsible for Crimes Committed by Your Car

Oğuz Çakır — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 09:54:38 +0000

Autonomous driving technologies are becoming more widespread with each passing day. Today, many companies are testing their self-driving vehicles in cities where they have permission to operate. However, this technology also brings up some problems. For example, who is to blame when these not yet perfect cars make a mistake? In China’s Hangzhou province, there is growing concern about the increasing number of self-driving cars, authorities are considering the idea of penalizing vehicle owners or managers for traffic violations committed by these cars. Here are the details…

Who’s Responsible When Self-Driving Cars Breaks the Law?

As self-driving car technology continues to develop rapidly, fully autonomous driving is becoming increasingly popular. For example cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Beijing, and Hangzhou have even started self-driving car trials. But there’s a lingering question: If a self-driving car breaks a traffic rule, who’s to blame? The passenger or the car’s owner? Should they be fined?

A recent report reveals that the city of Hangzhou has submitted a draft proposal focused on the testing and use of smart, connected vehicles. This draft outlines two key points:

All smart, connected vehicles must link to a central management platform.
A liability framework is established to handle legal and regulatory issues.

If a self-driving vehicle without passengers commits a traffic violation, the owner or manager of the vehicle will be fined as per the law. Additionally, the organization responsible for testing and using the vehicle will have to cover the costs of any accidents they’re liable for. Of course, this idea is not new; in the U.S. car owners are already held responsible for any accidents caused by their self-driving technology. The rules in Hangzhou are still a draft and may change, but they show the city’s plan for regulating these vehicles.

However, the debate is not over. Some say it’s unfair to blame the owner for mistakes made by a car they’re not driving. Others argue that since the owner is in charge of the vehicle, they should be held accountable for any mistakes. It remains to be seen how these new rules in Hangzhou will actually work, but they’re a big step toward making self-driving cars safer for everyone. Especially when you consider how advanced China is in this area.

What are your thoughts on this subject? In the event of an accident, who do you think should be held responsible: the owner of the vehicle or the person who developed the technology?

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Researchers Suggest Current Traffic Signals Need A Change – An Additional White Light – Here’s why

Joane — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 15:00:06 +0000

Cutting-edge research conducted by the transportation engineers at North Carolina State University concluded that adding a “white light” to the traffic signal would enable Autonomous Vehicles (AV) to help control the traffic flow and let human drivers know whom to follow.

The research uses computational simulations to figure out ways in which self-driving vehicles can help to significantly improve travel time through intersections and reduce fuel consumption. Researchers have named this novel concept the ‘white phase intersection’ wherein the computing power of AVs will be used to navigate and predict the traffic flow at intersections.

Under the white phase concept, all AVs in a particular area like an intersection or traffic signal will communicate wirelessly with each other. They will simultaneously also communicate with the main computer controlling the traffic signal. The main computer will collect and analyze all the data and when enough AVs approach an intersection, it will activate the White Light on the signal.

Once you see the White Light on the signal, you will know that there are many AVs at your intersection and they are coordinating their movements to facilitate an optimum and efficient traffic flow. This is important information for non-autonomous vehicles driven by humans as when the traffic signal shows White Light, the drivers would just need to follow the vehicle in front of them to get the best traffic flow, which will save both time and fuel.

Basically, research shows that the AVs will gather data about traffic, location, terrain, and other variables from each other and then map out the best flow of traffic. Human drivers will just need to follow the AVs. Essentially when you see the white light just follow the vehicle in front of you. If it stops, you stop. If it goes, you go. If the vehicle in front of you is passing through the intersection, then you also pass through the intersection.

When the majority of vehicles at the intersection are driven by humans and only a few AVs are near the area, the traffic signal will revert back to the conventional green-yellow-red pattern.

To find out the efficacy of the white phase, researchers used specially designed microscopic traffic simulators. These simulators are complex computational models designed to replicate real-world traffic, down to the behavior of individual vehicles. Using these simulators, the researchers were able to compare traffic behavior at intersections with and without the white phase, as well as how the number of AVs involved influences that behavior.

Researchers found that AVs help to improve traffic flow. However, there is a catch. The white phase concept doesn’t make much difference if there are fewer AVs. The study shows that if AVs account for only 10 to 30% of the total vehicles at a white-phase intersection then you see only small improvements in traffic flow. However, as the number of AVs increase, the benefits also multiply.

The novel concept of White Phase Intersection is still in the nascent stage. It will be years before the AVs can adopt the distributional computational approach for traffic and will require even more time for governments to adopt the new white light at traffic signals.

However as more and more companies and industries are getting into the autonomous driving sector, the future definitely lies in planning for a scenario where we will have more self-driving cars than human drivers on road.

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