In our modern society, people always look forward to the latest and greatest invention. Whether it is a new cellular device, or any kind of new, innovative technological advancement. One widely anticipated invention in our near future is that of the self driving car. Once the technology of imagination and old movies, this advancement is a real possibility within the next twenty years. Despite the great amount of technological safety precautions, self driving cars are facing many limitations before they can even be integrated into most roads. Currently, the idea of self driving cars is all thanks to the invention of all safety measures involved in the design of these vehicles. Self driving cars will employ radar sensors, ultrasonic sensors, video cameras, GPS sensors, as well as a very advanced type of imaging, called Lidar. Lidar stands for Light Detection and Ranging system, employing several spinning lasers to create a constantly changing, …show more content…
Perhaps the greatest problem facing these vehicles is sensory overload. In a few cases, sensors have mistaken oncoming traffic for overheating road signs, while other sensors in the car predicted the object to be a vehicle. When sensors provide two different readings, the central computer does not know which one to follow, therefore putting the passenger at risk. This was the case for a Tesla Model S car recently, causing a fatal crash for the passenger involved. In addition to this possible error, poor weather conditions hinder the sensors of the car, and make it unsafe to use currently. Perhaps the greatest risk for self driving cars is the fact that they do not accommodate for human error and interaction. Currently, these vehicles are programed to rigidly follow road laws, and do not act with human discrepancies, such as inching up on a stop sign, waving for another driver to go, or speeding