The document discusses autonomous vehicles, detailing their definition, historical development, operational mechanics, advantages, disadvantages, and future prospects. It covers key milestones from early remote-controlled vehicles to modern advancements by companies like Google, emphasizing the technological components involved and the ongoing challenges regarding legislation and public trust. The conclusion highlights the transition of cars into mobile entertainment centers and the emerging potential of vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

1. 909,SENTHUR POLYTECHNIC
COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF AUTOMOBILE
ENGINEERTING
SEMINAR
Submitted by:
NITHYANANTHAN S

2. Autonomous Vehicles

3. Topics Discussed
• What is an autonomous vehicle?
• History
• How does it work?
• Advantages
• Disadvantages
• Future

4. What is an Autonomous Vehicle?
• An autonomous vehicle (robotic car, driverless
car) is a automobile capable of transporting
passengers without the need for human
direction or interaction.
-Junior, a robotic
Volkswagen Passat at
Stanford University,
October 2009

5. History
• 1926 – Achen Motor displayed it remote
control vehicle, Phantom Auto, on the streets
of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The operator
followed the Phantom Auto in another car.
• 1960’s – Ohio State University department of
Communications and Control systems
launches autonomous vehicle project. States
that roads will be ready for autonomous
vehicles in approximately 15 years.

6. History
• 1980’s - DARPA funds the Autonomous-Land-Vehicle
(ALV)project using technologies from Carnegie Mellon
University (CMU) and University of Michigan.
Employed laser radar and computer vision to have
driverless vehicle trail a lead car at 19 mph.
• 1995 – CMU develops “No Hands Across America”
project in which a 98.2% autonomous vehicle traversed
3,100 miles across U.S. Neural networking was used to
steer the vehicle, however, the throttle and brake were
operated by a human via remote control.

7. History
• 2005 – Google, Volkswagen, and Stanford
Engineers win DARPA Grand Challenge, an 132
mile off-road racing contest, with Stanley.
• SPECS:
– 7 battery powered Pentium M
computers
– Terrain read with 4 laser range
finders, radar, cameras. System
reads environment and avoids
collision in real time.

8. History
• As of today, Google has created a fleet of driverless
automobiles. They have logged over 300,000 miles of
autonomous vehicle transportation. There has been only one
accident recorded. The accident was said to be caused by a
human driver as the driverless function was disengaged.
• Driverless vehicles are now able to legal travel roads and
highways in Nevada, California, and Florida. Texas has
now begun discussing criteria for laws concerning robotic
cars. Most states, however, have found it extremely
difficult to approach autonomous vehicle laws, as most laws
concerning automobiles assume a human operator

9. How does it work?
• Hardware:
– Velodyne 64 beam laser, mounted of the roof, generates a
3-D map of the environment.
– 4 radars mounted on the front and rear bumpers to navigate
through high speed traffic.
– A camera located on the rear view mirror dedicated to
reading traffic lights.
– GPS

10. How Does it Work?
• Software:
– Google Chauffeur – The premium software program
dedicated to driverless vehicles. Maintains vehicle
control most of the time, however, if it encounters a
situation that it is ensure of, the system will ask for a
driver to take control.
– Still in Beta testing
– Averages one error every 300 miles.
– Performs hundreds of diagnostic tests every second.
– Goal: To be safer than the average driver, not crash
proof

11. Advantages
• Better quality of life.
• Higher Productivity.
– The average American spends 18.5 hours a week
in a car.
• Safer roads.
– It is estimated that 40,000 people die in auto
accidents every year.

12. Disadvantages
• Difficult task for lawmakers.
• Insurance and accidents. Who is to blame?
• Can we trust this technology? Can this replace
human judgment?

13. Future Possibilities
• Google plans to have commercially available
autonomous vehicles by 2017.
• Cars will become a mobile entertainment center.
Including dedicated Wi-Fi.
• V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) Communication –
802.11p and Dedicated Short Range
Communications Standards (DSRCS).
– 5.9 GHz range radio frequency for collision
avoidance, managing traffic signals, and platoons
(coordinated fuel efficient groups).

14. Conclusion
• Autonomous vehicles have been subject to research and
development for nearly a century.
• Current vehicles employ a combination of laser mapping systems,
cameras, and sensors to read terrain, other vehicles, and traffic
lights.
• Google Chauffeur is the most advance software system to date.
• Weighing out the pros and cons.
• V2V communication is in the near future.
• Cars will no longer be thought of as simply a transportation
option, but rather a mobile entertainment center equipped with
Wi-Fi, televisions, and a entertainment dedicated onboard
computer.
• Japan has already begun to employ autonomous vehicles in the
trucking industry.

15. THANK YOU