Did you know that the first autonomous car project was by Leonardo da Vinci?
Autonomous vehicles they are much closer to everyone's day-to-day life. But they are not necessarily new, after all it was in the 15th century that Leonardo da Vinci thought of a car that could be driven alone, using the force of its springs.
This is one of the curiosities that iFood News brings about the technology that promises to be one of the pillars of the future of mobility. check out
First autonomous car project dates back to the 15th century
The author of the project: himself, Leonardo da Vinci. In 2004, scientists from the United States and Italy managed to “assemble” the automobile designed by the inventor. The three-wheeled vehicle was controlled by a very rudimentary computer programmed by its springs.
The ghost car
More recently — but not so recently, in 1925 — Francis Houdina (not to be confused with the illusionist), a former United States army engineer, modified an automobile with a radio control system. This meant that the car could be controlled remotely, changing speed, direction and even honking the horn. The vehicle was shown on Broadway and led pedestrians to call the vehicle a “ghost car”, since no one was behind the wheel.
The six levels of autonomy
From human control to machine control, there are some levels that give vehicles some autonomy. O iFood News showed these levels in matter What is an autonomous vehicle. The cars we see on the streets today are between levels 0 (no automation) and level 3 (conditional automation). We still do not have examples of vehicles with level 4 (high autonomy) or level 5 (full autonomy) automation.
Traffic with fewer accidents?
The expectation is that, yes, autonomous vehicles should make traffic safer and less congested, since the human factor, responsible for most accidents, would be out of the picture. It is also expected that traffic will be less “traffic”, more organized and less harmful to the environment thanks to the total control of the machines. Study carried out by the University of Berkeley (United States), observed the reduction in traffic and fuel consumption when the human-controlled car switched to automatic mode.
Each one is each one
Autonomous cars will be able to differentiate between possible obstacles that may appear in front of them. This means that it knows that a pedestrian is a pedestrian and has a specific type of behavior. In this video It is possible to understand how a Google autonomous car project differentiates objects by color.
TV released in UK autonomous cars (when they exist)
It will be possible to watch TV while behind the wheel of a vehicle equipped with autonomous driving technology. But the driver must be ready to regain control when necessary. The release will only be valid for times when the car is driving alone and for TV sets that are factory installed. This means that watching a football game or your favorite series on your cell phone remains prohibited. Important point: the United Kingdom still does not have autonomous cars driving its streets.
“There’s no one inside”In April 2022, police in San Francisco (United States) stopped a car operated by Cruise, an autonomous car company, because the vehicle's headlights were off. “There’s no one inside,” one person in the video says. The car then moves on, looking for a safer place to stop, and leaves the police behind. The scene amused internet users.
