Over the years, the concept of autonomous driving has undergone a sea-change from ‘maybe possible’ to ‘commercially available.’ However, despite this massive transformation, not many are aware of this autonomous driving technology. To increase people’s awareness, here is a detailed article on autonomous vehicles and driving them.
The AEVA Technologies have introduced LiDAR in autonomous vehicles to enhance their functionality. However, before getting into autonomous driving with Aeva and their LiDAR technology, let’s understand the mechanism of autonomous cars.
What is an autonomous vehicle?
An autonomous vehicle can run on its own without any human intervention. However, fully autonomous vehicles are still a long way to be seen on public roads. Even though they claim to run without human intervention, a person must be present inside the car so that the car does not make any wrong decision, leading to a fatal accident. Presently, the autonomous vehicles on public roads range from level 1 to level 3.
Levels of autonomy
According to the SMMT or Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, an autonomous vehicle can be divided into five levels: vehicles assisted by drivers to completely autonomous ones. Check out the levels of autonomy as given below:
a. Level 1 – Known as driver assistance, in this level, the vehicles have a single automated feature with the driver in charge of conducting the rest of the operations.
b. Level 2 – Known as partial automation, in this level, two or more features are automated. This is the level to which the present automation vehicles belong.
c. Level 3 – Defined as conditional automation, the automated vehicle can take care of the safety functions at this level. However, even though all vehicle features can be automated, a driver should be present to ensure nothing goes wrong.
d. Level 4 – Known as high automation, in this level, the vehicles are entirely automated in controlled areas. In addition, they are harnessed with the latest technologies, advanced sensors, machine vision, and many more.
e. Level 5 – Termed as fully automated, the vehicles in this level are entirely automated in all environmental conditions. In addition, unlike level 4, here, the vehicles do not require the intervention of a human driver.
How does AEVA contribute to autonomous driving?
Autonomous driving with AEVA has been made easier with the announcement made by AEVA Technologies a few days back. They have declared to collaborate with a famous self-driving truck firm named Plus and help them with advanced sensors.
The LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors of AEVA allow autonomous vehicles to get a multidimensional view of the vehicle’s road. Besides, the LiDAR technology also helps to detect items that are within a range of 400 meters. This technology also functions equally well in low-lighted areas. To create a three-dimensional image of the road outside, LiDAR uses infrared light. Hence, it can be rightly said that considering the contribution of LiDAR technology, autonomous driving with AEVA has undoubtedly been a boon to the self-driving vehicles industry.
Conclusion
Therefore, the autonomous vehicle and driving industry still has a long way to go. However, since more and more advancements in technology are being noticed with each passing day, the autonomous vehicle industry can also be expected to rise and shine in the upcoming time.
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