Documenting the Coming Singularity

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Move over for computer-controlled cars

Technology Review - 12.22.09

As the percentage of computer-controlled cars on the road increases, traffic should flow smoothly for longer, says a new study.

Adaptive cruise control systems work by monitoring the road ahead using a radar or laser-based device and then use both the accelerator and brake to maintain a certain distance from the vehicle ahead. (Other variations can bring the car to a halt in the event of a potential accident).

These devices have been available on upmarket cars for ten years or more and are now becoming increasingly common. If you drive regularly on freeways, the chances are you regularly come across other vehicles being driven by these devices, especially in Europe and Japan (here, the density of traffic means that ordinary cruise control has never caught on in the way it has in the U.S.).

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1 comments :

Anonymous said...

The new short hop, plug in synthetic bodied cars will certainly help reduce medical expenses/insurance expenses of car operation. With the advent of the electric bullet train networks,for long hauls, car insurance will drop or disappear entirely - but only in China where this is really happening!Americans can 't Shiite or get off the pot, and will die in Third World miseries for their indecision and inability to change!