Self-Driving Cars-Are Power Systems Up To The Task?

Introduction - Are we ready for self-driving cars? This is a question I have been asking myself a lot recently, and maybe you have too!

- Tony Armstrong

Of course, in my case, there is a little bit of self-interest since my teenage daughter has just started learning to drive. After her first lesson, I asked her how it went and her response surprised me a little. Driving the car itself did not seem to concern her so much; it was the people driving their cars around her. She complained how they were always close to the rear bumper, they never used their turn signal indicators, and that they would unexpectedly cut in front of her so that they could make their exit. All fair points and ones I could sympathize with from my own experiences on the roads of Northern California.

That got me to thinking about autonomous vehicles and the fact that they will not necessarily have a human driver behind the wheel (well, they might have one, but not actually using the control mechanisms from a historical perspective). Instead, a bunch of computer code will be running on the equivalent of a minimainframe computer connected to an array of different sensors both inside and outside the vehicle. They will be connected to the cloud and can essentially simulate the external environment around the vehicle in real time so that they can anticipate what actions must be taken based on the current traffic conditions around them. This will be done regardless of the range and scope of climatic, environmental, and traffic conditions.