7 new developments in autonomous vehicles: The best of IoT applied to the automotive industry

If in other articles of this blog we have talked about the keys to growth in the Internet of Things, now it is the turn of the main IoT innovations applied to the automotive industry. Although Google had been at the forefront of autonomous car innovation for a number of years, it is now facing stiff competition. Many other major brands have started to work towards what is already a finish line: Achieving driverless cars.

In this article we will review, precisely, which are the most important main developments in autonomous vehicles. Large companies (such as Ford, General Motors, Uber and Toyota) are competing to be the first to create a fully functional driverless car capable of driving around any city without any problem. At the same time, there are other startups and projects funded by international organizations (such as the European Union) that are working flat out to improve mobility in urban areas thanks to autonomous public transport. In short, a great engine of innovation created for a market that is increasingly interested in intelligent and accessible solutions.

Ford and driving without lights

Ford is attempting the never-before-seen: It wants its cars to be driverless, and what's more, blind. Under the name Project Nightonomy, Ford is testing a system of cameras and sensors to make autonomous cars capable of driving in the most adverse conditions known to man. What is the key to driving in total darkness? Ford's secret is hidden in the LIDAR sensors, The car is equipped with a laser to collect data on the range and intensity of objects on the road. In this way, the car can determine whether there are obstacles on the track.

At this point, the question would be whether Ford will manage to have its prototypes ready in the next few years. Undoubtedly one of its main competitors in Tesla, whose founder has already made it clear that in 2 years your cars will be driverless.

Toyota's Invisible Co-Pilot

For the Japanese, an autonomous car must let us drive. Toyota's main objective is not to eliminate danger on the road by eliminating drivers (and, therefore, human error), but rather it argues that technology should avoid dangerous situations. For this reason, the Japanese brand is working on the development of a “invisible co-pilot” or “guardian angel”.”, as told by the MIT technology Review. This system would take control of the vehicle only if it detected an imminent collision, which would be impossible for the human driver to avoid. Could artificial intelligence reduce road fatalities? First, we have to see if Toyota's prototype performs well when it decides to make decisions for us.

Uber and Lift, betting on autonomous vehicles

It is not only the big car companies that are preparing to make the big leap to the driverless car, but there are other companies that also see it as a promising future. Without going any further, Uber has already made it clear that its business is going to depend largely on the autonomous vehicles in a few years' time. The company Lyft, its direct competitor, currently works with General Motors to provide an alternative to public and private transportation. The main difference between this new startup and Uber is that Lyft bets on private drivers and not on professionals. In this way, anyone can earn extra money as a chauffeur thanks to Lyft's application, which informs users where they can get a private car to take them wherever they need to go.

Lyft's latest round of funding amounted to $5.5 billion, $500 million of which belonged to a direct investment from General Motors. Ultimately, both companies hope to be able to develop an autonomous vehicle to compete with the giant Uber, which has already left in the lurch the cab industry in the city of Los Angeles.

M City, a track without drivers

Companies are not the only ones interested in innovation in autonomous vehicles. In particular, the University of Michigan has been working on the first proving ground for connected cars, the M City. In total, it occupies an area of 32 acres and is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In addition to the university, large companies such as Honda, Nissan, Verizon, Ford and General Motors have also participated in this initiative. They estimate that, by 2021, M City will be an autonomous and connected city with all kinds of radars, cameras and communication networks to locate all kinds of elements in real time.

Autonomous public transport in Europe

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, there are initiatives supported and financed by the European Union to introduce autonomous public transport in large cities. A good example is the CityMobil2, a project that seeks to implement small driverless buses to improve urban public transport. For the past six months, a first pilot test has been running a 2.4-kilometer circular route in Trikala, Greece.

The CityMobil2 is a creation of the French company Robosoft, which reaches a speed of 50 kilometers per hour (although in tests it has been limited to a maximum of 20 kilometers per hour). It has the capacity to carry up to 10 passengers, This already gives us an idea of its reduced dimensions.

It works thanks to a GPS and a system of lasers, which allow to know its location and determine the movement. In addition, it also incorporates ultrasonic sensors to detect possible obstacles. For the time being, it only runs on a special lane. A total of six remotely monitored buses operate in Trikala, which have not been involved in any accidents so far. driving has been a success.

Greece is not the only country that has seen an autonomous bus pass through its streets: Wepod has already been circulated in Wageningen, in the Netherlands. Unlike the bus mentioned above, Wepod does not need to have a special lane. To move through traffic, Wepod uses Nvidia technology, thanks to which users can communicate with the vehicle through their Smartphone. Thanks to cameras, radars and the Deep Learning, The bus can recognize everything around it.

Trucks, also intelligent

One of the best applications that autonomous vehicles will have is innovation in the field of logistics. A good example of this is the European Truck Platooning Callenge,  an initiative of the Dutch government to demonstrate that it is possible for a entire fleet of trucks to run autonomously. Some of the most important truck brands - DAF Trucks, Daimler Trucks, Iveco, MAN Truck & Bus, Scania and Volvo - departed from different European cities (Stockholm, Gothenburg, Stuttgart, Munich and Brussels) and ended their route in the Port of Rotterdam. They were on the road for more than 2,000 kilometers without suffering any type of mishap.

 

The United States and its investment in driverless vehicles

Currently, the country with the highest number of autonomous cars in the world is the United States. Specifically, the majority of driverless cars are concentrated in Mountain View, California, the city where the headquarters of the company are located. Google. Despite the fact that the majority of vehicles circulate successfully, a few months ago, the first Google autonomous car crash. Specifically, the autonomous Lexus collided with a line bus (fortunately, no injuries!).

In view of the hype generated by driverless cars, the The U.S. Government has decided to invest $4 billion to fill the streets with autonomous vehicles. As we can read in Xataka, The State of California has implemented a new law regulating the circulation of autonomous cars, which will be the responsibility of the new Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). And it doesn't end there, because the U.S. Department of Transportation has unveiled a national plan dedicated to the development of autonomous cars. The idea is that, in ten years' time, the main automotive brands will begin to implement new improvements to make driverless cars a reality: pilot tests, development of new urban infrastructures and improvements in safety.

We will have to wait and see if other countries are encouraged to take the plunge and regulate the use of driverless cars. It will probably take a few more years before a significant part of the population has access to this type of vehicle.