Autonomous Cars

Ryan Kelley
Apr 9, 2016
1 min read

Driverless cars, self-driving cars, and robotic cars, these all fall under the category of autonomous cars, meaning that the vehicle is capable of sensing its surroundings and navigating without human input. Using a series of interconnected devices, such as various sensors, radar, and computer technology, the vehicle is able to interpret information from its surroundings and navigate on its own.

Although not completely autonomous yet, Tesla’s model S offers an “autopilot” feature. Using the vehicle's built in ultrasonic sensor, front-facing camera, forward radar, and GPS navigation, the model S can auto steer, change lanes, and park hands-free. The auto steer feature allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel while the vehicle travels on highway roads and maintains a safe distance from other cars. However there are limitations to the autosteer, as it only works between speeds of 18mph-90mph, and only where road signs are clear and visible. Although the model S will automatically change lanes when the turn signal is activated, drivers still need to account for other vehicles and blindspots.

With the release of Tesla’s model the idea of driverless cars is one more step closer of coming to fruition. Although this vehicle’s price ranges anywhere from 76k-86k, there are other car manufactures implementing similar abilities. One of the top ranked leaders in producing an autonomous car is Audi, and they have predicted that they will be producing a model capable of fully autonomous driving within the next few years.