auto alert
The car’s ability to drive precisely at its
physical speed, braking and cornering
limits on the racing circuit was developed
through the combination of a GPS system
with specially corrected signals accurate
down to one centimetre, a 3D camera with
images that recognise several hundred
known physical features of the Hockenheim
circuit environment, and comprehensive
on-board networking. These systems were
developed by the Volkswagen Group’s
Electronics Research Laboratory and
Stanford University. Predicted results
before the event included braking forces of
1,3g, cornering at 1,1g, a top speed of 240
km/h, and a lap time of 2 mins 10 secs.
Audi has put up a film of the demonstration
on Youtube, and it makes compulsive
viewing. The car’s standing start to full-stop
one lap time was, according to Audi, “just
over two minutes”, but watching the in-car
and out-of-car images reveals a remarkably
calm lap, with just some fine steering
corrections in the corners, and no frantic
wheel locking or screeching tyres. We were
left feeling that a similar lap with a driver in
charge would have been a tad more frantic.
We would love to see an equivalent lap
with a top driver on bard, or even a race
between the autonomous and manned
versions. If the “piloted” car won, then
Messrs. Hamilton, Alonso and company
had better look to their retirement planning!
We are, however, somewhat puzzled by the
“piloted” tag that Audi have given to this
concept. There was no ”pilot” anywhere in
sight!
➲ Inch-perfect cornering by Audi’s driverless RS7
Some highly automated shuttle vehicles
are expected to be operational on college
campuses by 2018, but these will operate
in a low-speed, and otherwise vehicle-free
environment.
In a country like South Africa, where we kill
each other on the roads at the rate of some
13 000 fatalities per annum, and road users
show scant respect for either the legislative
framework or the laws of physics, the
arrival of autonomous vehicles should be
eagerly anticipated. However, the true cost
of this technology, like that being applied
to hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles,
remains a mystery. Autonomy would make
possible the rational, safe and reliable
public transport structure that we often talk
about, but seem quite unable, or unwilling,
to implement. Whether local taxi drivers
would accept the use of driverless vehicles
is another moot point!
Autonomy Outlook
Running driverless vehicles on a racing
circuit is one thing, putting them out on
public streets is something else, entirely.
Although there can be no doubt that
much of the technology already exists,
the main challenges will be navigating
the transitional period when autonomous
vehicles have to co-exist with those driven
by fallible humans, and getting the related
infrastructure to the level where it can
fully support the on-board technology.
Wide-ranging research carried out by
the University of Michigan-Dearborn has
identified 2020 as the year in which the
automated vehicle era is most likely to
begin, initially with some reliance on a
driver to act as fallback in case of error,
and evolving, through increasing degrees
of self-reliance, to full automation around
2030.
Ford Ups the Loadbox
Ante!
Load security on freight vehicles is a
topic of considerable interest in South
Africa, where we often read and hear
reports of cargo falling off trucks on our
roads. Although most of the attention is
directed at heavy trucks dropping copious
quantities of vegetable oil, beer, or even
fully loaded containers on to the road
surface, the sight of ridiculously overloaded
pickups (bakkies) carrying precarious,
unsecured heaps of building materials, and
often labourers, around suburbs are an
everyday occurrence. Ford made headlines
at the Detroit Auto Show in January with
the launch of its new 2015 model F-150
“full-s