Self-Driving Cars: A Futuristic Reality

The concept of self-driving cars has been gaining traction in recent years, with numerous companies investing heavily in this technology to revolutionize the way we travel. The idea of a car navigating the road without a human behind the wheel may seem like science fiction, but it's becoming a reality. Self-driving cars use a combination of technologies to achieve this feat.

The first step is to gather data about the surroundings. This is achieved through a plethora of sensors, including radar, cameras, internal GPS, laser rangefinders, and lidar units. The car takes the information from the internal navigation system and the GPS to figure out where it is. It sends the data to the computer, which then uses the other sensors to further refine its location. The lidar and radar detect the surroundings of the car and match them to the data points gathered by the GPS and other systems. This creates a virtual map of what's around.

The cameras provide a visual representation of what's around, allowing the system to create a 3D model of the environment. This gives perspective on the surroundings that GPS can't deliver, such as where other cars are, pedestrians, bikers, and anything else that may be in the road. Self-driving cars are designed to make intelligent decisions on the best way to navigate around obstacles. After processing all the data and making these decisions, the car sends the information to the actuators on the vehicle that control the braking, throttle, and steering.

These processes are repeated many times per second, with the car doing everything that a driver does while behind the wheel, but better. The eventual goal is for autonomous cars to do it better than us. There are numerous players in the game of developing self-driving technology, including big names like Apple, Google, Tesla, Uber, and Lyft.

Google's Waymo has been testing self-driving Chrysler minivans on roads in California and Arizona, while Tesla is also testing its Autopilot system on public roads. Uber has partnered with Lyft to test ride-sharing benefits, with the goal of deploying autonomous Volvo's on the road by 2020. Meanwhile, Uber's rival, Lyft, is working towards achieving this goal as well.

The tech giant Apple has been quietly investing in autonomous car research known as Project Titan. They've been hiring and making acquisitions that suggests they're serious about putting a self-driving car out there, but so far, nothing tangible has been seen. All of these companies are focusing on shuttles and ride-sharing, but that's only one slice of the self-driving pie.

A big piece of that pie is autonomous delivery. Companies like Amazon, FedEx, and UPS are researching how they can take the driver out of truck drivers. This technology could reduce the price of delivery by billions. Companies are even working to deliver pizzas in an autonomous car. Domino's is working with Neuro to test pizza deliveries via their self-driving pod in Texas.

Even if people are still afraid to get into self-driving cars, they don't seem to have the same fears about receiving packages. Self-driving deliveries may be the key that convinces people to actually take rides and use self-driving vehicles. Companies like Too Simple or already demonstrating success with 51 self-driving trucks live on the road carrying cargo, but accompanied by a human in case of an emergency.

While breakthroughs and successes have been seen in autonomous vehicles, there are still concerns about safety issues. The likelihood that we will ever see a level 5 automation in every condition on every road is extremely small. However, it's possible to experience and even enjoy under strict confines level 4 and level 5 automation with things like shuttles and deliveries sooner rather than later.

The future of self-driving cars is looking bright, and it's time for cities like Detroit and Silicon Valley to hit the gas on this technology. With a long way to go before we can achieve true autonomy, it's an exciting time to be part of this journey. As we move forward, it's likely that people will come around to wanting to hop in a self-driving car and enjoy the convenience and relaxation that comes with it.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enlook ma no hands that's something you can now say while behind the wheel and we're not talking about the old drive with the knee trick we're talking about autonomous cars they're no longer a thing of science fiction not since 3d printing has a technology been so hyped up to immediately change our everyday lives and yet so deeply misunderstood this is how self-driving cars work and how they're going to change the future of Transportation you're watching the deets a show where we demystify the technologies that are shaping the future I'm your host Riley win self-driving cars they're in the headlines practically every day despite all the coverage and news coming out about self-driving cars people are still scared of them according to a poll from Reuters half of US adults think automated vehicles are more dangerous than traditional vehicles operated by people while nearly two-thirds said they would never buy a fully autonomous vehicle oftentimes fear stems from not understanding something so we're gonna break down how autonomous driving works to help ease some of those worries first before knowing what things make an autonomous car drive down the road we need to know what autonomous actually meets different cars are capable of different levels of self-driving and are often described by researchers on a scale of zero to five level zero all major systems are controlled by humans this is that 1995 POS geo you had in college level one certain systems such as cruise control or automatic braking may be controlled by the car but one at a time level two the car offers at least two simultaneous automated functions like acceleration and steering but it requires humans for safe operation level 3 the car can manage all safety critical functions under certain conditions but the driver is expected to take over when alert tesla's autopilot is a level two or three depending on who you're asking level four the car's fully autonomous in some driving scenarios though not all level five the car is completely capable of self-driving in every situation level five is the end game for autonomous cars you could sleep work or do whatever you want while your car does the driving for you currently there are no companies that are able to offer a fully autonomous ride in any conditions on any road with no human overseer self-driving cars use a bunch of different technologies to navigate the road without a human behind the wheel there's some that are familiar and there some you may not have heard of yet self-driving cars use radar sensors cameras an internal GPS laser rangefinders a bunch of software and a lidar unit the car takes the info from the internal navigation system and the GPS to figure out where the car is it sends the data to the computer and the car uses the other sensors to further refine where it is the lidar and the radar then detect the surroundings of the car and match it to the data that the GPS and other systems have gathered it creates a virtual map of what's around think of it as Tron meets your calculus homework the cameras then give a visual representation of what's around to match the data points gathered by the other technology this gives perspective on the surroundings that GPS can't deliver like where other cars are pedestrians bikers and anything else that may be in the road self-driving cars are designed to make intelligent decisions on the best way to navigate around obstacles after the car has processed all the data and made all these decisions on the route it's supposed to take it sends the info to the actuators on the car that control the braking the throttle and the steering all these processes are repeated many times per second and it's mind-blowing to think that all this is happening in real time the cars doing everything that a driver does while behind the wheel and the eventual goal is for autonomous cars to do it better than us there are many players in the race to become the first autonomous vehicle on the road big names like Apple Google's way moe Tesla uber and lyft are pioneering the technology to make this idea a reality and they're testing them out on roads as we speak wham-o has been testing self-driving Chrysler minivans and the Jaguar eye pace on roads in California and Arizona they're really investing their money and efforts into the ride-sharing benefits with this technology and have partnered with lyft speaking of ride-sharing lifts rival uber is testing out this tech as well uber is working their way to test out autonomous Volvo's as of right now they haven't deployed on public roads but they are doing virtual simulations and their goal is to have these lidar hat-wearing Volvo's on the road by 2020 they have also stated that they always expect to have a human available capable of rescuing the AI in case of an emergency meanwhile the tech giant Apple has been hush-hush about their autonomous car research known as project Titan they've been quietly hiring and making acquisitions that suggests they're serious about putting a self-driving car out there but we really haven't seen anything tangible yet all of these companies are focusing on shuttles and ride-sharing but that's only one slice of the self-driving pie a big piece of that pie is autonomous delivery the delivery giants like Amazon FedEx and UPS are researching on how they can take the driver out of truck driver this technology could reduce the price of delivery by billions companies are even working to deliver you pizzas in an autonomous car Domino's is working with neuro to test pizza deliveries via their self-driving pod in Texas I mean come on even if you don't like the idea of being in a car that's driving itself you can't help but admit that getting your pizza from a self-driving car it's pretty dang cool people are still afraid to get into self-driving cars but do they feel the same way about their packages we don't think so if self-driving deliveries can be successful it may be the primer that convinces people to actually take rides and self-driving vehicles companies like too simple or already demonstrating success they currently have 51 self-driving trucks live on the road carrying cargo but don't worry they are accompanied by a human in case of an emergency even with the breakthroughs and successes we've seen in autonomous vehicles at this current moment people are still worried about the safety issues with self-driving cars and quite frankly the tech isn't there yet to ease those concerns the likelihood that we will ever see a level 5 automation in every condition on every road is extremely small but don't lose hope because we are likely to experience and even enjoy under strict confines level 4 and level 5 automation with things like shuttles and deliveries sooner rather than later Motor City and Silicon Valley you need to hit the gas on this because we've got a long way to go now is the time to prove it's possible so people will come around to wanting to hop in a self-driving car I don't know about you but I look forward to the day where I can sit back relax and drop in with my boys on four night all the way home let us know in the comments below if you would ride in or own a self-driving car until next time I'm Riley won with Digital Trends and thanks for watchinglook ma no hands that's something you can now say while behind the wheel and we're not talking about the old drive with the knee trick we're talking about autonomous cars they're no longer a thing of science fiction not since 3d printing has a technology been so hyped up to immediately change our everyday lives and yet so deeply misunderstood this is how self-driving cars work and how they're going to change the future of Transportation you're watching the deets a show where we demystify the technologies that are shaping the future I'm your host Riley win self-driving cars they're in the headlines practically every day despite all the coverage and news coming out about self-driving cars people are still scared of them according to a poll from Reuters half of US adults think automated vehicles are more dangerous than traditional vehicles operated by people while nearly two-thirds said they would never buy a fully autonomous vehicle oftentimes fear stems from not understanding something so we're gonna break down how autonomous driving works to help ease some of those worries first before knowing what things make an autonomous car drive down the road we need to know what autonomous actually meets different cars are capable of different levels of self-driving and are often described by researchers on a scale of zero to five level zero all major systems are controlled by humans this is that 1995 POS geo you had in college level one certain systems such as cruise control or automatic braking may be controlled by the car but one at a time level two the car offers at least two simultaneous automated functions like acceleration and steering but it requires humans for safe operation level 3 the car can manage all safety critical functions under certain conditions but the driver is expected to take over when alert tesla's autopilot is a level two or three depending on who you're asking level four the car's fully autonomous in some driving scenarios though not all level five the car is completely capable of self-driving in every situation level five is the end game for autonomous cars you could sleep work or do whatever you want while your car does the driving for you currently there are no companies that are able to offer a fully autonomous ride in any conditions on any road with no human overseer self-driving cars use a bunch of different technologies to navigate the road without a human behind the wheel there's some that are familiar and there some you may not have heard of yet self-driving cars use radar sensors cameras an internal GPS laser rangefinders a bunch of software and a lidar unit the car takes the info from the internal navigation system and the GPS to figure out where the car is it sends the data to the computer and the car uses the other sensors to further refine where it is the lidar and the radar then detect the surroundings of the car and match it to the data that the GPS and other systems have gathered it creates a virtual map of what's around think of it as Tron meets your calculus homework the cameras then give a visual representation of what's around to match the data points gathered by the other technology this gives perspective on the surroundings that GPS can't deliver like where other cars are pedestrians bikers and anything else that may be in the road self-driving cars are designed to make intelligent decisions on the best way to navigate around obstacles after the car has processed all the data and made all these decisions on the route it's supposed to take it sends the info to the actuators on the car that control the braking the throttle and the steering all these processes are repeated many times per second and it's mind-blowing to think that all this is happening in real time the cars doing everything that a driver does while behind the wheel and the eventual goal is for autonomous cars to do it better than us there are many players in the race to become the first autonomous vehicle on the road big names like Apple Google's way moe Tesla uber and lyft are pioneering the technology to make this idea a reality and they're testing them out on roads as we speak wham-o has been testing self-driving Chrysler minivans and the Jaguar eye pace on roads in California and Arizona they're really investing their money and efforts into the ride-sharing benefits with this technology and have partnered with lyft speaking of ride-sharing lifts rival uber is testing out this tech as well uber is working their way to test out autonomous Volvo's as of right now they haven't deployed on public roads but they are doing virtual simulations and their goal is to have these lidar hat-wearing Volvo's on the road by 2020 they have also stated that they always expect to have a human available capable of rescuing the AI in case of an emergency meanwhile the tech giant Apple has been hush-hush about their autonomous car research known as project Titan they've been quietly hiring and making acquisitions that suggests they're serious about putting a self-driving car out there but we really haven't seen anything tangible yet all of these companies are focusing on shuttles and ride-sharing but that's only one slice of the self-driving pie a big piece of that pie is autonomous delivery the delivery giants like Amazon FedEx and UPS are researching on how they can take the driver out of truck driver this technology could reduce the price of delivery by billions companies are even working to deliver you pizzas in an autonomous car Domino's is working with neuro to test pizza deliveries via their self-driving pod in Texas I mean come on even if you don't like the idea of being in a car that's driving itself you can't help but admit that getting your pizza from a self-driving car it's pretty dang cool people are still afraid to get into self-driving cars but do they feel the same way about their packages we don't think so if self-driving deliveries can be successful it may be the primer that convinces people to actually take rides and self-driving vehicles companies like too simple or already demonstrating success they currently have 51 self-driving trucks live on the road carrying cargo but don't worry they are accompanied by a human in case of an emergency even with the breakthroughs and successes we've seen in autonomous vehicles at this current moment people are still worried about the safety issues with self-driving cars and quite frankly the tech isn't there yet to ease those concerns the likelihood that we will ever see a level 5 automation in every condition on every road is extremely small but don't lose hope because we are likely to experience and even enjoy under strict confines level 4 and level 5 automation with things like shuttles and deliveries sooner rather than later Motor City and Silicon Valley you need to hit the gas on this because we've got a long way to go now is the time to prove it's possible so people will come around to wanting to hop in a self-driving car I don't know about you but I look forward to the day where I can sit back relax and drop in with my boys on four night all the way home let us know in the comments below if you would ride in or own a self-driving car until next time I'm Riley won with Digital Trends and thanks for watching\n"