Swan(sea) Song – personal research during my six years at Swansea ... and bey...
Artificial intelligence
1. Artificial Intelligence in Cars
Artificial Intelligence- the science and engineering of making intelligent
machines, especially intelligent computer programs (McCarthy 1)
2. Autonomous cars (driverless cars) fullfill the capabilities of traditional cars while sensing the
environment and navigating by themselves
Uses laser, radar, LADAR, GPS, and computer vision
LADAR uses light from a laser to measure distance between objects
Computer vision is the processing of images from the real world to extract and interpret
information
Advantages
• Fewer crashes
• Increased roadway capacity
• No need to drive
• Elimination of restraints on driving such as age and disabilities
• Less police monitoring
• Less need for vehicle insurance
3. History
1939- World Fair depicted electric cars controlled by radio
1980’s- Mercedes Benz robotic van reached 62 mph
1980’s- DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) used LADAR and
computer vision
1994- Robot vehicles drove in standard traffic in Paris semi autonomously
1995- Carnegie Mellon Navlab achieved 98.2% autonomous driving across America
2010- VisLab had four driverless vans travel from Italy to China
Current: Army developing autonomous vehicles to navigate off road terrain and drive
in groups
4. Future
Automated Highway Systems
Special lanes on highways that have magnets or some other infrastructure allowing
the vehicle to stay in the center of the lane
Communicates with other vehicles to avoid collision and speed up traffic
Use of acceleration lanes and deceleration lanes
Currently, there are semi-automated bus systems in the Netherlands and France
DARPA continues to sponsor research on autonomous systems for military use
Google driverless car
Equilibrium Concept
5. Equilibrium Concept
Futuristic car that uses artificial intelligence to generate illusion of life and personality
Exterior surface is covered by rubber metal that is flexible and rigid
Smooth, continuous surface that doesn’t have seams
Electric engines located in rear wheels for space efficiency and weight distribution
Battery pack located in front of vehicle for weight distribution
Air flows from front air intake along batteries and through frame to cool batteries
Seats made of external shell and soft inner skin which is made of Electro Active
Polymers which adapt to drivers’ body
Electricity makes surfaces stretch and change shape
Steering wheel has heartbeat sensors to activate vehicle from standby to full power as
it detects driver’s heartbeat.
As driver gets tired, vehicle can detect lower heart rate and react by blowing fresh
air inside. In more serious situations, it will bring vehicle to standstill or park it
along the road and send out alarm message.
6. Google’s Driverless Car
Created robot vehicle Stanley that won 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge
Uses Google Street View and AI software that combines input from video cameras,
LIDAR sensors, and radar sensors to locate the car’s position on a map
LIDAR generates 3-D map of environment
Other radars allow the car to “see” far enough to navigate through fast traffic and
detect traffic lights
Car detected other cars, pedestrians, and traffic lights
At intersections, car turns but yields to pedestrians that cross on time or last-minute
At 4-way intersections, car yields to other vehicles based on road rules
ex. Inching forward to show intention
