Driving from Italy to Shanghai, without a driver
By Colleen Barry |
July 21, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IT'S a modern-day version of Marco Polo's journey halfway around the world - but is anyone at the controls?
A team of Italian engineers yesterday launched what has been billed as the longest-ever test drive of driverless vehicles: a 13,000-kilometer, three-month road trip from Italy to China, not in search of silk, but to test the limits of future automotive technology.
Two bright orange vehicles, equipped with laser scanners and cameras that work in concert to detect and help avoid obstacles, are to brave the traffic of Moscow, the summer heat of Siberia and the bitter cold of the Gobi desert before the planned arrival in Shanghai at the end of October.
"What we are trying to do is stress our systems and see if they can work in a real environment, with real weather, real traffic and crazy people who cross the road in front of you and a vehicle that cuts you off," said project leader Alberto Broggi.
The road trip consists of two pairs of vehicles, each with a driven lead van followed by a driverless vehicle occupied by two technicians, whose job is to fix glitches and take over the wheel in case of an emergency.
The driverless vehicle takes cues from the lead van, but will have to respond to any ordinary obstacles or dangers. The two pairs alternate stretches along the route to China.
"We will definitely need some help by humans. It is not possible to have 100 percent driverless. This is why I call it a test, not a demonstration," Broggi said.
The technology developed by Vislab, an artificial vision and intelligent systems lab at the University of Parma run by Broggi, might one day allow driverless vehicles to transport goods across Europe. Broggi said driverless vehicles are probably 20 years away.
But elements of the technology could find applications much quicker. For example, the scanners being tested could soon allow farmers to program tractors to plow and seed fields through the night, Broggi said.
A test drive off campus last week illustrated the many hazards. A tractor trailer blocked visibility entering a busy traffic circle, forcing the lead vehicle to inch tentatively into oncoming cars. When it did find a break, there wasn't enough time for the second vehicle to follow before another car inserted itself between them, cutting off communication. The technician aboard the second vehicle had no choice but to hit manual and start driving.
In ordinary life, the technology might one day be used in a passenger car to allow drivers stuck in traffic jams to sit back and read the newspaper, Broggi said.
The vehicles travel at a maximum 50 or 60 kilometers an hour, and must be recharged for a full eight hours after every two to three hours of driving.
The idle pair will be carried along the route on a truck.
A team of Italian engineers yesterday launched what has been billed as the longest-ever test drive of driverless vehicles: a 13,000-kilometer, three-month road trip from Italy to China, not in search of silk, but to test the limits of future automotive technology.
Two bright orange vehicles, equipped with laser scanners and cameras that work in concert to detect and help avoid obstacles, are to brave the traffic of Moscow, the summer heat of Siberia and the bitter cold of the Gobi desert before the planned arrival in Shanghai at the end of October.
"What we are trying to do is stress our systems and see if they can work in a real environment, with real weather, real traffic and crazy people who cross the road in front of you and a vehicle that cuts you off," said project leader Alberto Broggi.
The road trip consists of two pairs of vehicles, each with a driven lead van followed by a driverless vehicle occupied by two technicians, whose job is to fix glitches and take over the wheel in case of an emergency.
The driverless vehicle takes cues from the lead van, but will have to respond to any ordinary obstacles or dangers. The two pairs alternate stretches along the route to China.
"We will definitely need some help by humans. It is not possible to have 100 percent driverless. This is why I call it a test, not a demonstration," Broggi said.
The technology developed by Vislab, an artificial vision and intelligent systems lab at the University of Parma run by Broggi, might one day allow driverless vehicles to transport goods across Europe. Broggi said driverless vehicles are probably 20 years away.
But elements of the technology could find applications much quicker. For example, the scanners being tested could soon allow farmers to program tractors to plow and seed fields through the night, Broggi said.
A test drive off campus last week illustrated the many hazards. A tractor trailer blocked visibility entering a busy traffic circle, forcing the lead vehicle to inch tentatively into oncoming cars. When it did find a break, there wasn't enough time for the second vehicle to follow before another car inserted itself between them, cutting off communication. The technician aboard the second vehicle had no choice but to hit manual and start driving.
In ordinary life, the technology might one day be used in a passenger car to allow drivers stuck in traffic jams to sit back and read the newspaper, Broggi said.
The vehicles travel at a maximum 50 or 60 kilometers an hour, and must be recharged for a full eight hours after every two to three hours of driving.
The idle pair will be carried along the route on a truck.
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