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Nissan has just announced that it will have an autonomous car in production by 2020 and the firm is already creating a synthetic landscape of real roads and buildings to test out its own self-drive technology.
If we didn't all know that autonomous cars were on their way, you could be forgiven for thinking the Japanese manufacturer was building its own full size automotive equivalent of a train set!
Kitted out with real street scenes to replicate an urban environment, the test landscape will ensure any potential failures do little damage apart from to corporate pride - not that any are expected, given that the company already has deployed technology involving 360-degree cameras and sensors to assist drivers in parking and avoiding accidents.
Nissan isn't alone either, as major automotive manufacturers in Europe currently trialling autonomous vehicles include Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and VW.
Mercedes was the first to build a robot car, back in the eighties, which encouraged the EU to fund the Prometheus autonomous vehicle project. In 1995, an autonomous Mercedes S-class made a successful round trip from Munich to Copenhagen, reaching speeds of over 100 mph on the German autobahns.
One of the most publicised recent test programmes involves Google, and its test cars have now completed over 300,000 miles with an engineer and driver aboard. Now Google has moved on to the next stage and is testing with just one occupant in each test vehicle.
These cars are equipped with a laser radar system, sensors and a roof mounted range finder beam system to provide a detailed map of the environment. Vehicles follow a pre-programmed route in the GPS navigation system and comply with all speed limits.
The benefits of autonomous vehicles over self-drive vehicles include better traffic flow, reduced traffic congestion and improved fuel efficiency. Vehicles can be programmed to follow each other closer, maximising available road space, and travel faster in safety.
Cars can also self-park and be programmed to drop-off and pick-up passengers at more convenient points. Closer parking is also possible. Meanwhile, vehicle occupants can relax on the journey as passengers - reading, using their mobiles and sleeping.
Resultant improved road safety should lead to lower vehicle insurance premiums and there should also be less need for physical traffic management and fewer traffic patrols.
Currently, the USA is leading the way in anticipating the inevitable future with three states having already passed laws allowing autonomous cars on their roads.
Besides having to cope with dense urban driving environments, autonomous vehicles will have to prove their reliability under all road traffic conditions.
However, one less obvious obstacle to change remains. Significant amendments will be required to current legislation before autonomous vehicles make it to volume production.
Currently, road traffic legislation is centered on the driver, so what will the revised legislation look like? Will there be a requirement for someone to always be behind the wheel to override systems should the vehicle not perform as programmed? Will drink/drive, drug/drive limits still apply?
Whatever the final outlook, make no mistake, autonomous vehicles are on their way with widespread repercussions for those responsible for fleet.
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