BERLIN, Germany - It can drive and navigate without a human at the wheel - it seems the car of the future, a completely computer-controlled vehicle, is on the streets of Berlin.
Researchers from the city's Free University have been testing an autonomous automobile in the German capital.
The vehicle manoeuvres through traffic on its own using a sophisticated combination of devices, including computers, electronics and a precision satnav system. These devices are supplemented by a camera in the front and laser scanners on the roof and around the front and rear bumpers.
'FASTER THAN A HUMAN'
"The vehicle can recognie other cars, pedestrians, buildings and trees as far as 70m away an whether the traffic lights ahead are red or green - and react accordingly," said Raul Rojas, head of the university's research group for artificial intelligence.
"In fact, the car's recognition and reaction to its environment is much faster than that of a human."
The German scientists have been working on the car, a modified VW Passat that cost the equivalent of R4.2-million, for four years.
Several other groups have also been working on such technology, notably Google, which has been testing a robotic Toyota Prius in Nevada.
Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, a professor for automotive economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, said autonomous vehicles were being tested in several countries.
"There's a big trend for completely computer-controlled cars - many companies and research centers in several countries are working on it and it is hard to say, who's got the most-developed vehicle at the moment," said Dudenhoeffer.
Howevere Dudenhoeffer estimated that, even with the technology advances, it might be another decade before fully self-driving cars become generally available.
HUMAN ERROR
"Even today's cars are partly computer-controlled, for example when it comes to parking or emergency braking," he said.
Technological issues were being addressed but, he added, legal challenges lay ahead.
"Who will be responsible if there's an accident? The owner? The person in the car? The company that made the car? However, all in all, computer-controlled cars will be much safer than those with a human driver, especially if you keep in mind that most of today's accidents are caused by human error," Dudenhoeffer said.
The researchers had a special permit from Berlin's security and safety controllers for road-testing - but only with a human in the car in case of a malfunction or other emergency. A test track was used for the car to go solo.
"This kind of technology is the future of mobility," Rojas said, who had a more conservative estimate than Dudenhoeffer, saying that it may be 30 to 40 years before the vehicles become available to the average consumer.
'SMOOTH AS A HUMAN'
The key to the automobile's intelligence is in the way the computer programs run.
"In the beginning with had trouble with the robotic driving style of the car," Rojas admitted, "but we've worked on the programming and now its driving style is as smooth as that of a human."
Rojas estimates that once the technology, specifically the sensors, become less expensive, robotic vehicles will conquer the roads.
"It is similar to the beginnings of the computers: 40 years ago only research labs could afford computers, now everybody is walking around with a computer in his pocket," he said.
Ideally, the car will respond to orders by remote control, for example on an iPad or an iPhone. With a click or a touch, the passenger can call the car to his personal location and then order it to drop him off at a destination.
"This kind of car is actually perfect for car-sharing," Rojas said. "There will be no need to own a car - once the automobile has dropped off its passenger it will drive on to the next."
Researchers from the city's Free University have been testing an autonomous automobile in the German capital.
The vehicle manoeuvres through traffic on its own using a sophisticated combination of devices, including computers, electronics and a precision satnav system. These devices are supplemented by a camera in the front and laser scanners on the roof and around the front and rear bumpers.
'FASTER THAN A HUMAN'
"The vehicle can recognie other cars, pedestrians, buildings and trees as far as 70m away an whether the traffic lights ahead are red or green - and react accordingly," said Raul Rojas, head of the university's research group for artificial intelligence.
"In fact, the car's recognition and reaction to its environment is much faster than that of a human."
The German scientists have been working on the car, a modified VW Passat that cost the equivalent of R4.2-million, for four years.
Several other groups have also been working on such technology, notably Google, which has been testing a robotic Toyota Prius in Nevada.
Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, a professor for automotive economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, said autonomous vehicles were being tested in several countries.
"There's a big trend for completely computer-controlled cars - many companies and research centers in several countries are working on it and it is hard to say, who's got the most-developed vehicle at the moment," said Dudenhoeffer.
Howevere Dudenhoeffer estimated that, even with the technology advances, it might be another decade before fully self-driving cars become generally available.
HUMAN ERROR
"Even today's cars are partly computer-controlled, for example when it comes to parking or emergency braking," he said.
Technological issues were being addressed but, he added, legal challenges lay ahead.
"Who will be responsible if there's an accident? The owner? The person in the car? The company that made the car? However, all in all, computer-controlled cars will be much safer than those with a human driver, especially if you keep in mind that most of today's accidents are caused by human error," Dudenhoeffer said.
The researchers had a special permit from Berlin's security and safety controllers for road-testing - but only with a human in the car in case of a malfunction or other emergency. A test track was used for the car to go solo.
"This kind of technology is the future of mobility," Rojas said, who had a more conservative estimate than Dudenhoeffer, saying that it may be 30 to 40 years before the vehicles become available to the average consumer.
'SMOOTH AS A HUMAN'
The key to the automobile's intelligence is in the way the computer programs run.
"In the beginning with had trouble with the robotic driving style of the car," Rojas admitted, "but we've worked on the programming and now its driving style is as smooth as that of a human."
Rojas estimates that once the technology, specifically the sensors, become less expensive, robotic vehicles will conquer the roads.
"It is similar to the beginnings of the computers: 40 years ago only research labs could afford computers, now everybody is walking around with a computer in his pocket," he said.
Ideally, the car will respond to orders by remote control, for example on an iPad or an iPhone. With a click or a touch, the passenger can call the car to his personal location and then order it to drop him off at a destination.
"This kind of car is actually perfect for car-sharing," Rojas said. "There will be no need to own a car - once the automobile has dropped off its passenger it will drive on to the next."