Introduction to the Self Driven Car
The self-driven car is a car which doesn’t require a driver; also called as driverless car.
The very basic requirement of a self-driven car is that it should be safe for people both inside and outside the car. It should recognize the objects around it (for example; pedestrians, cyclists or other vehicles), take necessary actions in response to the objects detected using technologies like GPS, LIDAR, 3D Digital Map, etc., and be able to drive and reach the destination.
The problem
The two major problems we face in day-to-day life with respect to driving are:b) Traffic collision
● The congestion problem may not appear when traveler leaves his location. But he might come across the situation during his commute.
● There is no early warning system available to convey the travelers of the natural calamities that may occur once they have started their journey.
b) Unpredictable interferences
Solution
Having thoroughly understood the problem, it is certain that there is a need for a centralized monitoring system which can do the job of traffic controller. This can be achieved with a solution- Car driving slot reservation.
A car should be equipped with appropriate software and required hardware which can communicate to the central server. A person who wants to travel, needs to set the destination and intended destination arrival time. The server comes up with a start time and reserves a slot for the traveler. Everyone who wants to travel needs to do the same. If there is lot of traffic based on the request, the system will give a warning and propose an alternate time.
The idea is that, this might not make things faster, but it can make traffic smooth and predictable, helping the traveler take appropriate decisions.
Figure 1: Various positions of cars and their communication with the central unit
● Car 2 has received its traffic slot and is joining the traffic
● Car 4 is idle and ready to initiate the communication for the slot reservation
Typical Software
The software for Car driving slot reservation should be spread across central server, autonomous car and a controller. The software in the central server should be able to process huge amount of data. Its main objective is to:● Gather additional data related to traffic conditions and process it.
● Respond to user requests made by the controller. The server should be able to calculate an alternate route if available.
● Based on the gathered information, calculating the next possible non-congestion period.
● Provide the autonomous car with route map and continuously monitor its position.
● Should be able to estimate the power or fuel requirement for the travel.
Hardware Functionality
Let’s assume that fully fledged autonomous cars are equipped with necessary hardware. The emphasis shifts on GPS (or GPS like technology), as this is the only factor which helps to track the position.Controller
Controller can be a mobile phone or equivalent to mobile phone, having access to data with which it can communicate with the server and car. It should continuously access the position of the car connected to it along with various statistics like battery power, environment temperature, and humidity. This feedback is also fed to the server from the car.Working Model
The entire working model is described in the following steps.2. The server checks the list of travelers from its database on the same route. It also considers some other parameters like rainfall, thunderstorm, and unfortunate incidents.
3. If the destination cannot be reached at the particular time due to traffic, the server will respond with alternate possible time. If the slot is free, a valid slot ID is returned. The time is chosen in such a way that, between two cars there is a predetermined time gap.
4. If the traveler is in agreement with the suggested start time returned by the server, the car acknowledges the time and starts automatically on the traveler’s signal.
5. The car continuously monitors for the possible list of issues sent by the server. If there is a major issue, the traveler is notified with the unfortunate event and based on the input from the traveler further decision is taken.
6. If the traveler is late for some reason, after the lapse of a maximum buffer time, the slot allocated will be automatically cancelled. This slot will be used for some other slot requester.
7. The traveler can cancel the travel plan, which will be acknowledged by server and the same is conveyed to car.
8. The server will continuously monitor the position of the cars and other events like natural calamities and unfortunate events.
9. If there are some unfortunate incidents on the way, the feedback is used to make decisions for the next requests.
Conclusion
● There should be separate tracks for the driverless cars