The driverless taxi trend is set to take off in 2023 in Dubai! Will the city of dreams embrace this trend wholeheartedly? Tsunami CostaBir shows us the big picture on this driverless drive…
The US firm, Cruise, is all set to launch driverless taxis in Dubai by the year 2023, embracing the future of autonomous driving. The AI used for driverless taxis will have to be unique to the driving style of each city. They won’t require new infrastructure or for drivers to change their habits. The taxis use cameras and about 100 sensors to navigate around the city to get every little detail of their surroundings. Each vehicle will be able to seat 6 passengers. Dubai plans to have 4,000 driverless taxis by the year 2030.
Pros Of Driverless Vehicles
The expected pros of driverless taxis are reduced accidents as supposedly 90% of accidents are caused by human error and people falling asleep at the wheel. Other pros include increased speed, and making mobility more affordable as the cost of the driver can be saved. They are also attributed to being environmentally friendly as they are electric vehicles. We spoke to Puneet Shankar Chatlani and Trish Miranda, residents of Dubai, to get a better understanding of their feelings about the safety and efficacy of driverless taxis. We asked them whether they would use driverless taxis, and they said they would be willing to use them, provided they were cost-effective. As for safety, they believe that if the authorities of Dubai are open to introducing a certain concept in the country, it means they will ensure its safety.
Autonomous Vehicle Technology, Unplugged
Autonomous Vehicle technology puts the passenger’s safety as its priority. Its big data system takes in a large amount of information to make real-time decisions on driving. The vehicle will only start when all its doors are properly shut and the passengers have fastened their seat belts, at which point the GPS navigation system will get activated. The vehicles are also equipped with sensors that will detect any malfunction and stop at the nearest place so they can be helped.
Cruise uses an internet tool called Webviz which helps them visualize thousands of complex decisions vehicles make – both on the road and in simulation. Basically, it lets them see the world from the perspective of a car. Not only can the technology see way more than the human eye – 360° to be precise – but it can also see hundreds of feet ahead. It collects information about pedestrians, construction work in progress, other vehicles, road conditions and more. The AV then processes this information in a split second, tracking each important object… for instance, a pedestrian walking.
Incidentally, Cruise and other companies working on their own Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) have put their information and software out there for other engineers and coders to access, use for themselves and build on. At the end of the day, when it’s something that will impact human life so greatly, an open sharing of information so as to reach the best possible result is at the forefront of what is to be achieved.
Autonomous Vehicles will have the ability to make the road an extremely safe space, since this technology considers everything that is already present on the road, plus makes predictions as to what is about to happen to make correct driving decisions. Currently, the vehicles will have a driver’s seat with a steering wheel and pedals so that in case of a malfunction, a human driver will be able to take control of the car. But the vision is to have AVs with no driver’s seat, steering wheel or pedals. This will optimize space utilization.
Empowering People
One of the best ways AVs are expected to benefit humans, apart from their potential to save lives by reducing the number of road accidents significantly, is that people with disabilities and older people can use this mode by themselves, making transportation extremely convenient. AVs will also eliminate driver fatigue and one will be able to sleep restfully during overnight journeys.
A REVOLUTION is on its way… let’s gear up for it!!