In this world and time, maybe one of the greatest breakthrough of mankind is artificial intelligence There are plenty applications of artificial intelligence – in the military, medicine and automobiles. Take the automobiles for example, artificial intelligence paved way to the creation of autonomous cars. Autonomous cars are alternatively called self-driving cars, robotic car or driverless car.
Many car manufacturers fight for dominance of autonomous cars. Regardless of the manufacturer, autonomous cars feature sensing technology that can detect surroundings with the help of equipment like computer vision, radar, Global Positioning System and Odometry. These are called advanced control systems.
To add, autonomous cars are also capable to navigate streets without human intervention. Its advanced control systems allow the car to analyse its path and determine a safer and smoother route to the desired destination. The recent development is presented by Tesla. In October 2015, they announced that they updated their Model S which allows Level 2 autopilot.
Speaking of levels of autopilot, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of United States developed classification system for autonomous cars. It would be to your benefit if you can classify autonomous cars. Here is the classification:
- Level 0: Almost all cars here in Singapore are Level 0. Level 0 refers to cars that are completely controlled by the driver at all times. This means manual driving.
- Level 1: Level 1 refers to cars that automatically control some system. In Level 1, the car only controls the automatic braking or the electronic stability control without human intervention.
- Level 2: Level 2 gives the car control over two automated systems in unison. For example, the car has this adaptive cruise control at the same time it is able to consider lane keeping.
- Level 3: In Level 3, the driver can yield control of safety and critical functions of the car under particular circumstances. The car is intelligent enough to determine if it requires the intervention of the driver and gives sufficient and relaxed transition time.
- Level 4: In Level 4, the car automatically performs all functions from starting the car up to parking. No human intervention is needed all throughout the duration of the trip.
Now you know the classification of autonomous cars. Indeed artificial intelligence and autonomous cars proved to be beneficial. With this, you have to forget about the idea of artificial intelligence gaining total control of humanity like what you see in the movies. You have to welcome this development and think of how it can positively affect Singapore in the long run.