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Disclaimer—This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is based on publicly available information and may not provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used for any purpose other than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering

students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or her own risk.

HOW AUTONOMOUS CARS WILL REVOLUTIONIZE THE WAY WE TRAVEL

Garrett Davey (gld14@pitt.edu)

NEW AND EXCITING TRANSPORTATION

In today’s world, our roads are plagued with dangerous drivers, pollution, and congestion. If these issues were addressed they could make a world of a difference in society as we know it. One solution to said problems is the autonomous car. The autonomous car will be able to solve these problems with high efficiency electric motors, and one hundred percent computer controlled driving that communicates with other cars to find the fastest and safest route possible. I have selected autonomous driving to focus on because I am very interested in the automobile industry and the revolutionary changes going on within it.

Little do most people know, the way we get around today will not be the same in twenty or even ten years. Even the government has condoned self-driving vehicles because of their safety and fuel efficiency. In a news release from Federal Auto Safety Regulators, it was made clear that they were betting on autonomous cars to be safer than their human driving counterparts [1]. Although this technology is still in a very primitive form, most experts are very excited about it and the increased safety that comes with this new technology. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the general public. In a survey conducted by AAA in March of 2016, three out of four American drivers fear the autonomous car [2]. This percentage may seem high, but another study was done by Volkswagen where wary riders were tricked into getting into a fake autonomous car that had a hidden human driver, and surprisingly, after no more than five minutes, they were comfortable with the ride [2]. It only took that short, positive experience to change their minds about the car. Despite the disagreements between the citizens and the public, autonomous cars are for the better. They are a safer alternative to conventional driving because they bear no error for human error.

If autonomous cars can behave as well, if not better, then human drivers than what fear is there to be had? Personally, I believe that this technology is coming whether we like it or not, and if you’re not comfortable with it when it’s here, then tough cookies. The pros of getting rid of human drivers outweigh the cons 100:1.

Autonomous cars have the opportunity to end fatalities on the road, reduce emissions, and completely end road congestion once and for all. Even the semi-autonomous vehicles available today help minimize deaths, congestion, and emissions already. Autonomous cars can be seen in testing today in Pittsburgh, PA. Uber and Carnegie Mellon have teamed up to create a fleet of self-driving Ubers to service the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Although they still require humans to sit in the driver’s seat in case of malfunction, it is a huge step towards fully autonomous driving. Autonomous cars will revolutionize the way we think about transportation forever. It will invite a whole new suite of arguments to the table like how old must you be to ride alone in a self-driving car, will there be government interference, and what will become of the auto industry? But one thing is for sure, the day an autonomous vehicle is available for purchase by consumers, the way we travel will be revolutionized forever.

THE PROBLEMS WITH HUMAN DRIVERS

For about a century, humans have been operating cars unassisted by anyone but themselves, but this is soon to change thanks to autonomous cars. Until now, almost one hundred percent of accidents or fatalities on our roads can be accredited to human error. Human drivers also cause heavy congestion that lead to wasted time and money sitting in traffic. Not to mention the exponential increase in emissions that come from a growing number of cars standing still on a freeway. Soon fatalities and accidents, along with pollution and congestion, will be a thing of the past with futuristic technology arriving now.

Dangerous Roads

Sadly, we are subject to poor drivers distracted by food, cell-phones, make-up, and children. Each year on American highways these distractions account for more than thirty thousand fatalities [3]. That is more than five times the number of American soldiers killed in the war on terror [4]. Engineers across the world are feverishly working on new technologies that can guide drivers away from collisions and dangerous situations. Even cars available for sale today

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contain lifesaving software that help drivers avoid collisions. Some of these technologies include blind-spot monitoring, emergency braking, lane departure warning, and driver drowsiness detection [5]. All of these available technologies combined most nearly give you an autonomous vehicle. But work still must be done by engineers to get the autonomous car out on the road.

Pollution From Our Highways

Our highways are also a major contributor to climate change. Two thirds of climate change in the last century has occurred since 1975; in this thirty-year period the average temperature has increased at .15-.20 degrees Celsius per decade [6]. This correlates phenomenally well to the era when family cars were made available to all consumers, and the time when the national highway system was nearly complete around 1960-1975. Autonomous cars can slow and possibly reverse this change with their intelligent communications systems that allow all cars to communicate and eliminate congestion. This communication will also cut down the wasted time cars spend in traffic which also contributes to pollution. Most autonomous cars will be paired with the newest technology in electric engines to completely eliminate emissions created by gas guzzling cars today. The combination of time saving communication and electric engines will greatly cut back on pollution from our highways.

Congestion On Our Highways

One final challenge to engineers on our roads, discussed in the last section as well, is the congestion put on our aging infrastructure. In a report done by CNN, Americans were stuck in traffic for nearly eight billion hours during 2015 [7]. This time could be translated into billions of dollars in revenue and economic growth that would be otherwise lost in the time spent on our morning commute. Our aging infrastructure is also taking a heavy beating from congestion in densely populated areas. Autonomous cars could possibly spare our time and infrastructure through communication between vehicles that would possibly eliminate all highway congestion. This communication will include all cars in a system communicating with one another to get cars where they need to go in a timely manner. Communication between cars means that they will be able to talk to one another to keep the system moving and avoid collisions in the process. The communication will move vehicles efficiently through a highway system while avoiding collisions and stopped traffic. Cars that are able to communicate with each other will inherently be able to avoid each other and possibly eliminate the need for some traffic regulations. These advancements will allow us to spend that time lost in commute on valuable tasks that can promote a healthier economy and atmosphere.

Autonomous Cars: The Solution

The daily commute is an essential part to just about everyone’s day. The average person must commute daily to and from a place of work to earn money to support their families. Making this crucial part of their day safer, quicker, and more efficient is necessary to advance our global society. Our communities will not be able to grow without a more efficient commute that minimizes accidents, time, and emissions. Autonomous cars are a solution to all the problems discussed in this section. It can save lives by avoiding collisions, eliminate congestion by communicating with other vehicles, and produce less emissions by spending less time on the roads and making use of more efficient electric motors.

AUTONOMOUS DRIVING: THE TECHNOLOGY

Within the last decade engineers have been making what was only before seen in Hollywood become a reality. Now, scenes from The Jetsons don’t seem so far out of reach. Engineers from Google, Uber, Carnegie Mellon, and many more are working to make cars that drive themselves a realistic possibility. These autonomous cars will be practical solutions to deaths, pollutions, and congestion on our roads. Just recently in August of 2016, Uber and Carnegie Mellon University teamed up to create a fleet of self-driving Ubers (a relatively new hail at your convenience version of a taxi cab) to roam the streets in our hometown of Pittsburgh [8]. So whether you’re ready or not, the future is fast approaching.

Autonomous driving works by utilizing a variety of sensors and computer software to observe road conditions and act as a human driver would. Obeying all traffic laws and considering poor weather conditions, along with emergency situations, are all part of its job. But here’s the catch, this is done without the mistakes made by humans. Although many different engineers and firms are working on a solution to the autonomous car, there is not one answer to this problem. There are many ways an autonomous vehicle can look, but the basis of the vehicles is the same. That is that it has the ability to transport you from point A to point B on its own completely unaided by man. Autonomous vehicles will also be able to communicate with each other to avoid collisions and minimize congestion. The goal of the autonomous car is to transport people and goods in safer and more efficient ways. The communication between vehicles will attain this goal by ending collisions with radar and laser technology; it will also minimize congestion by moving all cars together as a system rather than cars moving as individual particles.

Imagine your car already started for you on a snowy February morning, ready for your daily commute, and before you know it you’ve arrived at work and you’ve even been dropped off at the door! What a gentlemen. Through this

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whole process you’ve avoided dangerous driving situations stemming from the snow, spending the time to heat up your car before work, and managed to make it to work on time (not to mention the time you also will save by avoiding morning rush hour when all cars will be able to communicate and work as a system to end congestion). Who would have imagined such a machine? Autonomous cars have the possibility to make this fantasy a reality while improving our overall quality of lives.

The base that almost all engineers are using for autonomous cars right now is a combination of many cameras, lasers, and GPS tracking to guide a car without human intervention. A system of cameras detects obstacles from all angles of the car. The lasers map out the entirety of the surrounding objects and uses a system of algorithms to maintain its distance from them. GPS tracking guides the car from place to place and keeps it on the road. These systems will help decrease the number of accidents with their preprogrammed algorithms to of course avoid any collisions.

Autonomous cars are not only more time efficient and safer but they are also more energy efficient. The combination of time saving communications between cars and electric motors makes for a much greener transportation grid.

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES TODAY

Even though the autonomous car has still not totally arrived, some cars today utilize semi-autonomous systems to help minimize accidents and pollute less. Like I’ve said before, universalized autonomous cars are still years away, but a few companies have been working towards their larger goal of autonomous cars by making innovations in semi-autonomous driving in some of their own cars. Four car companies, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, BMW, and Infiniti have produced models that are capable of removing the most human error possible from our driving with today’s technology. Car and Driver tested four models from each of the previously listed manufacturers and assessed where we stand today in autonomous driving [9]. These cars all included a host of innovations that appear to be very close to autonomous cars. Their long list of innovations includes but is not limited to automatic lane keeping, blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, and emergency braking. On a fifty-mile route Tesla’s Model S, with their signature “autopilot” system, only had twenty-nine interruptions in “self-driving” the whole time [8]. The test road included a variety of driving conditions and roads that the average driver would encounter on a daily basis: like patchy road markings, traffic lights, sharp turns, and steep hills.

While these cars cannot completely drive themselves, they come very close. Each of these new technologies on cars already help save hundreds of lives a year. One of them, the Tesla, also already employs a one hundred percent electric motor that emits zero emissions. So although

autonomous cars have not quite arrived, their innovations are being seen in cars working today.

First Hand Experience

One of the reasons this topic interests me so much is because of my first hand experiences with cars that have semi-autonomous capabilities. My family owns a new Mercedes that has the ability to keep you in your lane, monitor blind spots, and brake in emergency situations. It is fascinating to drive a machine of this caliber because it is nothing like you’ve ever felt before behind the wheel. It feels like there is someone watching over your driving and there to make subtle corrections when needed. If you stray from your lane, it will gently nudge you back to the center; if there is someone in your blind spot, a triangle lights up red in the mirror to warn you; and if an unexpected obstacle appears in front of your vehicle, it will brake for you automatically. Although you can by no means trust this system to drive your car itself, it is a baby step towards the autonomous car. And the fact that it has trickled down into more affordable cars means that autonomous cars are much closer than we think and excites me very much.

The Closest Thing To Autonomous Cars

The closest thing we have today to autonomous cars is a project headed right here in Pittsburgh by Uber and Carnegie Mellon (CMU). Uber and CMU have come together to create a fleet of autonomous cars that are a part of Uber’s driver network in Pittsburgh [10]. These cars are almost fully self-driving and function as part of Uber’s self-hail taxi cab service. If you see one on the street you may think that you’ve somehow teleported to a scene from a sci-fi movie, see figure 1 below [10]. They are completely electric cars, Ford Fusions to be exact, outfitted with technology that allows the car to drive itself. The system starts with a mounted rotating lidar on the roof that beams 1.4 million laser points per second to create a 3-D image of the cars surrounding. Below that sits a color camera detecting traffic light changes ahead. And below that, there is an elongated rectangle mounted with twenty cameras spread around each side of the car that detect pedestrians, braking vehicles, and other obstacles. On top of this rectangle with the cameras sits an antenna that uses GPS location to position itself and follow a route set out by the customer. Finally, lidar modules around the front, sides, and rear detect cars in the blind spots [11]. All these sensors combined allow the car to drive itself. Crazy, huh? These radars and lasers prevent the car from colliding with obstacles which inherently ends the risk of all accidents caused by this car. It’s also making our Earth a little greener by being completely electric. If all cars were like this, we’d ultimately have a travel grid without fatalities or pollution. Two of the main issues with our roads.

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FIGURE 1 [10]If you are visiting Pittsburgh watch out for these funky looking self-driving Ubers. They are almost fully autonomous cars capable of driving themselves. Afraid of them? No worries, Uber must invite you to ride in one through their VIP program.

On top you can see the lidar, below the cameras, and around the sides the fins that monitor blind spots. Although this car looks spooky now, once the technologies are finalized most autonomous vehicles will look like the cars we drive today. Autonomous vehicles can also be paired to electric motors like the Uber seen in figure 1 [10]. The cars chosen by Uber are one hundred percent electric Ford Fusions with zero emissions. That’s right: zero pollution. Imagine if all our cars were self-driving cars with electric motors; maybe climate change would be impeded, or lung diseases stemming from air pollution could be eradicated. This incredible innovation and step in self-driving technology is a sign that the future is near.

Although this technology seems ready to take over the world, it is not perfect yet. A human driver must sit in the driver’s seat to correct malfunctions in the systems driving while another engineer sits in the passenger seat and take notes. And remember that the eight billion hours of traffic haven’t been solved yet either. This can only be solved when all of cars are autonomous because it will require every cars participation to make the communications work.

PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION DONE RIGHT

The self-driving car is a powerful machine that has the capability to drive itself based on computer software and sensors from one point to another unaided by man. Autonomous cars, like the Ubers in Pittsburgh, can solve the problems of personal transportation by eliminating human error in driving that causes thousands of deaths per year, cut the stress and frustration out of the daily commute, and eliminate emissions with electric engines and less time spent on the roads. Autonomous cars can end deaths on the roads by operating the car for humans who can easily be distracted or intoxicated. Computers will and cannot tend to your crying baby in the back seat nor will they get behind the

wheel drunk. They will also communicate with other cars to minimize congestion and keep the flow of traffic moving without any collisions or road rage. They will also nearly eliminate emissions from our roads when paired with electric motors like the electric Ford Fusion hybrid used in the self-driving Uber. Autonomous cars must continue to be an important topic in engineering, because a world where no one loses a life in a car is a better one. It is also the next step in advancing our economies, cities, and infrastructure. If these cars are able to eliminate traffic jams forever and free up time lost by driving, then that time can be used for more important tasks than driving. I believe that autonomous driving is the future of personal transportation and will revolutionize the way we get around. Someday I will tell my grandkids stories of a time when all cars were driven by humans. Although it will be sad to lose the privilege of driving, it is for a safer and more connected society. If I can end deaths from drunk drivers by giving up the privilege to drive, then so be it.

SOURCES

[1] Kang, Cecilia. “Self-Driving Cars Gain Powerful Ally: The Government”. The New York Times. 09.19.2016. Accessed 10.30.2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/technology/self-driving-cars-guidelines.html?_r=0.p1.[2] Hsu, Jeremy. “75% Of American Drivers Fear Self-Driving Cars, But it’s an Easy Fear to Get Over”. IEEE Spectrum. 03.07.2016. Accessed 10.30.2016. http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/self-driving/driverless-cars-inspire-both-fear-and-hope.p1.[3] “General Statistics”. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 02.2016. Accessed 10.30.2016. http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/state-by-state-overview.p1.[4] Megan Crigger and Laura Santhanam. “How many Americans Have Died in U.S. Wars?”. PBS. 05.24.2015. Accessed 10.30.2016. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/many-americans-died-u-s-wars/.p1.[5] “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems”. Auto Blog. 01.01.2016. Accessed 10.30.16. http://www.autoblog.com/driver-assist-technology/.p2.[6] Pyper, Julia. “Self-Driving Cars Could Cut Greenhouse Gas Pollution”. Scientific American. 09.15.2016. Accessed 10.30.2016. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/self-driving-cars-could-cut-greenhouse-gas-pollution/.p2.[7] Mclean, Robert. “Americans were Stuck in Traffic for More than 8 Billion Hours in 2015”. CNN Money. 03.15.2016. Accessed 10.30.2016. http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/15/news/us-commutes-traffic-cars/.p2.[8] Quirk, Mary Beth. “Uber’s Self-Driving Pickups Start Today In Pittsburgh”. Consumer Reports. 09.14.2016.

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Accessed 10.30.2016. http://www.consumerreports.org/self-driving-cars/ubers-self-driving-pickups-start-today-in-pittsburgh/.p2.[9] Sherman, Don. “Semi-Autonomous Cars Compared! Tesla Model S vs. BMW 750i, Infiniti Q50S, and Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG”. Car and Driver. 02.2016. Accessed 10.30.2016. http://www.caranddriver.com/features/semi-autonomous-cars-compared-tesla-vs-bmw-mercedes-and-infiniti-feature. P3.[10] “Steel Cities New Wheels”. Uber. Accessed 10.30.2016. https://www.uber.com/info/atc/car/.p3.[11] Skye Gould, Yu Han and Danielle Muoio. “Here's the tech that lets Uber's self-driving cars see the world”. 09.14.2016. Accessed 10.30.2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-ubers-driverless-cars-work-2016-9.p3.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my Dad for giving me interest in cars and their new innovations, I’d also like to thank Consumer Reports for making me crave the next issue of their magazine like ice cream. I’d also like to thank Forbes Hall for providing such a quiet environment to get this paper done in. Another thank you I’d like to extend is to my friend Susannah for taking the time to work on revising this essay with me. And always a big thank you to Mrs. Nancy Koerbel and the writing center for taking the time to read this paper. Hopefully it wasn’t too painful…

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