Can Cars Truly Be Automated?

There was a time when Johnny Cab and KITT- like fictional characters and technology seemed well, fiction. However, with modern technology, we might see a real KITT-like machine on roads soon!

With technical advancement, automated cars went from “complete fantasy” to “maybe doable” to “completely possible” to “inevitable” to “available now”. Sure, the automated vehicles we see today are nowhere near KITT, but we’re getting there.?

What is an Autonomous Car to Begin With??

Are you not sci-fi cinephile enough to understand what an automated car looks like? Don’t worry; we can explain the things automated cars can do to help you get an idea. Here are six levels of driving automation, Level 0 being the plain-old manual operation and Level 5 being complete automation.?

• Level 0: These are the readily available cars that feature zero automation. They need manual control and human interaction to move even a centimeter.?
• Level 1: Cruise Control enabled cars are the best examples of Level 1 automated cars. These cars need complete driver attention, but can regulate speed themselves.?
• Level 2: Human control is necessary at Level 2. However, with ADAS, cars can accelerate and regulate speed and monitor tasks until the driver takes manual control.?
• Level 3: Level 3 automated cars can perform most driving tasks but lack intuitiveness. They need human intervention at times but can detect their environment.?
• Level 4: Level 4 is when things start getting interesting. Human override is an option but most functions are performed automatically. With geofencing and ideal external conditions, these cars will more-or-less drive themselves.?
• Level 5: Level 5 automated cars do not need any human interaction. These cars can detect humans, other vehicles, and all other external factors even in unideal environmental conditions. These are what you can call truly automated cars.

Do We Need Self-Driving or Autonomous Cars??

Laymen use the words self-driving vehicles and autonomous vehicles interchangeably. While these terms are closely related, there are significant differences between the two.?

• Self-driving or automated cars are built to follow instructions. Most self-driving cars come under the level 3 and 4 categories since they need some geofencing and specific environmental conditions. However, with proper sensors and ML, Level 5 automated cars can be built too.?
• Autonomous cars, on the other hand, function on AI and can think for themselves. Think of them as your very own Jarvis! Therefore, they can take you to the park instead of work if they please. However, these are the cars that will easily navigate through traffic and unideal road conditions seamlessly.?

AI and ML will together help build smart autonomous cars. Such cars will take decisions on their own while also following human instructions. Until then, in the near future, the telematics world is working towards building Level 5 automated cars.?

But, How Do Cars Drive Themselves??

Vehicles need human-like senses for environmental detection. Therefore, a car can only drive itself through sensor integration and interaction. They can achieve automation when they can integrate cameras, LIDARs, lasers, and other sensors.

However, just substituting human senses will not do. Even when all these sensors detect real-time data, they need to ‘talk’ to one another to function, just as sensory organs come together in the human brain.?

To seamlessly exchange information among themselves, sensors need V2X (Vehicle to Everything) communication and global connectivity. When all vehicles, wearables, ATMs, and even restrooms are connected to the Internet, cars can interact and detect the distance between themselves and their environment.?

The digital age’s advent with 5G and the upcoming 6G promises global connectivity. This connectivity is even more reliable through upcoming low latency and high-speed networks. Therefore, the faster the cellular networks, the more automated vehicles become.?

Is The Future Near??

Yes! Till 2018, the autonomous driving technology development giant Waymo was only able to create self-driving cars ideal for vetted drivers. However, only three years down the line, they have successfully created Johnny Cab-like robot drivers.?

With faster cellular networks and stronger sensors emerging every day, the connected automated car is not way into the future anymore. The future is here, and we are excited!