VOA常速英语:Strides Made in Self-driving Cars, But Much Work Remains

The self-driving car is a truly 21st century machine. Even though the idea has been around since 1930s, only the sharp rise of computing power and corresponding dropping in the price of sophisticated hardware have allowed the researchers to start building experimental vehicles.

Experts agree it is no longer a question of if but when self-driving cars will become available and affordable.

However, there still are a few hurdles.

The researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have been testing the experimental Cadillac SUV on the road from suburban home to the city’s airport. The vehicle performed flawlessly.

But the lead researcher, professor Raj Rajkumar, says driving through the inner city is another matter.

“The traffic around the inner city can be very dense — different kinds of vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists and pedestrians that particularly jaywalk across the streets and location outside in the sections and so on.”

Each year, more than 1 million people die and 15 million are injured in car accidents, 90% of which are caused by humans. Experts say self-driving cars will reduce those numbers dramatically. Because they obey speed limits, observe road signs and never run a red light.

Audi, Tesla, Mercedes and others already offer models with capabilities for self-steering and rear-end collision avoidance, reducing the tediousness and stress of long highway drives.

A bigger hurdle may be getting people to trust a car enough to let go of the wheel. But Rajkumar says it actually does not take that long.

“They begin to see that the vehicle is exactly very rational, drives safely and then they begin to relax.”

So most of the technology is already there. What is required is the drop in the price and more sophistication in the computer programs that will control the car.

“To me, it will take about 10 years, maybe more than 10 years, for a vehicle to be able to drive itself everywhere that you and I can drive today, from any point A to any point B that a lot of consumers can drive.”

But Google, Uber and some others say they are already preparing for the more distant future, experimenting with cars with no pedals and steering wheels that may fundamentally change the way we use cars today.

George Putic VOA NEWS Washington.