Brandon S. Bachu
5/15/2016
Automated Cars
Cars for us have become an item to show off status and wealth. Over time we have transitioned the way we have traveled. It started off with the horse and carriage. This was where a person would sit on a carriage and guide a horse into the direction the driver wanted to go. The problem with this mode were the conditions the horses were subjected to and also the fact that there were two beings so the horse was pretty much tailoring the input form the driver. After this phase entered a phase where there was a competition for the alternative fuels that was going to be used. Gas won this battle because of the “amount of energy packed with such flexibility, utility, safety, and simplicity” (Arthur C. Clarke) After this cars developed more and more. The most recent main stream modification has to be the standardization of automatic transmissions. Before automatic transmissions we use to use manual transmission, were the driver would have to clutch in pick the gear, then release the clutch and choose if to accelerate. All of this would go on simultaneously as the driver was steering, watching the road, and maintain what was happening in his/her car. With automatic transmission, the car would automatically shift into the appropriate gear needed at the current time. This eliminated the possibility of stalling out which in fact did better than humans. Automatic transmissions appealed to the mass population because it decreased the amount multi-tasking needed to drive it. Also gave the driver could just focus on the road instead of upshifting and down shifting.
Now in the year twenty sixteen automated cars are appeling to masses. Imagine getting up from your bed putting on some work clothes and getting into your car to only fall sleep again. Companies are working on automated cars that can do just that. Google for a while have been dominating in the progression of the automated car. Recently they released it onto the roads and it has gotten into several accidents. The major point here we have to remember is it does not have to be perfect, it just has to be better than us. At a show case Tesla showed of an automated car that was supposed to steer automatically instead it veered off course and was within range to crash into an oncoming car. Luckily the driver was able to catch the error before anything happened.
One factor that is always being brought up is security. Driving is a huge responsibility, one wrong turn and it can be lethal for the driver and/or passengers. What happens when the automated car is put into a predicament when it has to choose between the passenger or driver. There is an ethical dilemma which can hinder people from participating in this new phenomenon. Recently hackers have found a way to hack a 2014 Jeep Cheroke. “As the two hackers remotely toyed with the air-conditioning, radio, and windshield wipers, I mentally congratulated myself on my courage under pressure. That’s when they cut the transmission.” This was in a car with no automation, all wireless. Imagine how devastation this would be in a car that is fully automated.
As if right now I feel like this is a weird time for cars because, the automation of cars, can change the way cars look in the inside, it can change the way they are bought for families. Automated cars have the capabilities to change many fields. While leaving an everlasting impact.
Citation Page
The one technological innovation from 2015 and 2016 I choose to write about is self-driving cars. The reason is because I feel this innovation is going to have the biggest impact on all of our lives. As an automotive technician myself I can see some benefits and some threats.
- Google Self-Driving Car Project. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2016, from https://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/
This source is important because the first thing we need to identify is why companies are switching over to driver less cars. A big key player is google, they have been making extreme advances in this region.
- Howley, D. (2016, February 12). Self-Driving Cars Are Coming Soon to a Highway Near You. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from https://www.yahoo.com/tech/self-driving-cars-are-coming-soon-to-a-highway-221223190.html
This source gives the reader a sort of “all of around” view on these cars. It allows us to be exposed to the technology these cars use. It identifies problems with everyday drivers and shows how self-driving cars can combat some of these problems.
- McCowen, D. (2014, May 9). Self driving cars have a long way to go: Google. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/self-driving-cars-have-a-long-way-to-go-google-20140905-10cuk7.html
Although this article is a bit older it dates where we taught self-driving cars were going to go.
- Kaufman, A. (2015, November 19). Elon Musk Just Dropped Another Hint That Tesla May Take On Uber. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tesla-vs-uber_us_564e7e24e4b0879a5b0a67fa
Google are in talks with Ford Tesla is in talks with Uber. What does this mean for the working force, especially those who drive taxis as a living? Definitely self-driving cars are going to shake things up, but this has the potential to eliminate a whole job market.
- Walker, A. (2016, February 26). How Self-Driving Cars Could Make Traffic Worse. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://gizmodo.com/how-self-driving-cars-could-make-traffic-worse-1761395435
For the most part we have heard only positive things about self-driving cars. It would be to eliminate drivers, cause less accidents, etc. But now the demographics of humans can change because of the advancement of the car. People are going to spread out further and traffic is going to be twice as bad as it is now.
- Turner, S. (2016, March 06). After crash, Google still has hurdles before self-driving cars are ready – East Idaho News. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.eastidahonews.com/2016/03/crash-google-still-hurdles-self-driving-cars-ready-consumers/
For a while we have been hearing about google self-driving cars getting into accidents. This is the first time google has taken responsibility for it. The interesting with this article is tackles the same accident from the legal, ethical and the views from outsiders. This was interesting because there were so many takes on the same issue.
- Thomas, C. (2016, February 3). Brits say no to self-driving cars even though other countries want them. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/640743/British-no-self-driving-cars-other-countries-want
We cannot focus on what is only happening here in the Americas but we need to be able to see what other countries are saying about a topic that has a lot of impact. Britain says no but other countries want it.
- Stewart, J. (2015, August 25). What may be self-driving cars’ biggest problem. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150824-what-may-be-self-driving-cars-biggest-problem
In this article it steps away from the problems of the product itself and show us what exactly is wrong with us humans. It provides us with information from the human side, what is going to happen to the driver, how are decade year old drivers going to treat these cars?
- GREENBERG, A. (2015, August 11). Hackers Cut a Corvette’s Brakes Via a Common Car Gadget. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.wired.com/2015/08/hackers-cut-corvettes-brakes-via-common-car-gadget/
In twenty fifteen, a huge ordeal in the automotive community had to be the hacking. The scary thing is these hackings could have taken full control over the car. The reason why I want to use this article is to show if driver less cars are common this can become a security threat.
- (2016, February 11). Google’s Artificial Intelligence Could Count as a Car’s Driver. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.techwire.net/news/googles-artificial-intelligence-could-count-as-a-cars-driver.html
I would like to end my essay showing how these cars are the beginning of the artificial intelligence era. If this is successful driverless cars can control us.
