There is nothing like a relaxing Sunday drive with your windows down and the music on. But, what about a Sunday drive with your windows down, music on and your hands not on the wheel? Yes, you read that right; starting in 2015, hands-free driving will be coming to new cars!
A few weeks ago, we wrote a blog about Google’s latest invention of the self-driving car. So today, to keep in line with the invention idea of self-driving cars and innovation, we are going to talk about the Cruise RP-1, which is a system that is an autopilot tool for the road.
This invention works in a way that once the system is installed, a driver can simply press the Cruise button, which then allows the driver to travel on a highway without having to touch the steering wheel or foot pedals. This innovative invention ensures that the car stays in the lane and maintains a safe distance between itself and the car in front of it. Furthermore, the Cruise RP-1 also can stop and navigate a car through stop-and-go traffic.
This invention will be fitted to nearly any vehicle. Additionally, there is a roof-mounted “sensor pod” that will contain two cameras, a radar mechanism, GPS, inertial sensors and an on-board computer, as well as actuators that will control the car’s steering, acceleration and braking actions. The Cruise RP-1 will use all of these software/hardware combinations to constantly scan the road, in order to keep the car operating within a safe distance from other cars and the boundaries that are present in the driving environment.
In addition to the car system, the Cruise also will feature an iOS app that will allow the driver to see what the system can see in real-time. This will be done through Wi-Fi and the app will provide a graphic that will display the cars that are detected around the driver.
As of right now, this invention is scheduled to be released for a limited rollout in California sometime in 2015!
Copyright Davison 2014
Sources:
http://mashable.com/2014/06/23/cruise-hands-free-driving/
http://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-autopilot-startup-2014-6