Last month, G.M (General Motors) has announced in a press release that it will be releasing it's driverless cars very soon. Tesla, one of the reputed manufacturer of electric cars has already started testing its prototype of the self-driving car in selected US cities. Waymo (a subsidiary of Google's parent company named Alphabet Inc) and Uber ( #1 ridesharing service ) have joined the race as they have also started testing their models on public roads in some states of US.
What is an autonomous vehicle? Is it fully controlled by technology without the need for a physical driver? To understand it better, you need to know the different levels of automated driving based on the SAE standard which is given below.
Level 0 - Few warnings are generated automatically but the vehicle is fully controlled by a human driver.
Level 1 - Hands-On - This level is used by many drivers in the US while taking long road trips. In this level, steering is controlled by the driver whereas the speed is controlled by technology. A perfect example of this concept is ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control )
Level 2 - Hands off - The system takes full control of steering, brakes and accelerator. But, the driver should be able to take control in case if the system fails or not able to handle properly.
Level 3 - Eyes off - In addition to taking full control of the car, the system can also respond to any situation that requires immediate stop so that it doesn't need any help or support from the driver. But, the driver should be able to intervene if the system fails or needs some kind of support.
Level 4 - Mind off - This level works in the same way as level 3 except that it doesn't need any kind of support from the driver at all. The driver can simply take a nap or sit comfortably on the back side of the car.
Level 5 - No steering wheel - This level is 100 automated as it doesn't expect the presence of steering wheel in the car.
Top car manufacturers like G.M, Ford, Audi etc are spending billions of dollars to reach Level 3 automation. Audi, the leading manufacturer of luxury cars has claimed that their upcoming model Audi A8 Luxury Sedan will be the first commercial car to be fully compliant with Level 3.
Based on the above information, it is clearly understood that autonomous vehicles will be the beginning of the next generation transportation system. But, you cannot introduce a driverless car to the public unless the roads, maps, traffic signals etc are upgraded. Other things like traffic rules and regulations needs to be updated.
A non-profit organization named DAV, headquartered in Switzerland has thought about this concept and proactively took the first step by developing an innovative platform for connecting all the autonomous vehicles in a decentralized manner so that every user can buy or sell any service based on their need. Check out the link https://dav.network/whitepaper.pdf to learn more about the technology behind this platform.
Is this platform available for free? No. You need to hold the DAV tokens to access the platform. How to buy DAV tokens? To know that information, please visit https://dav.network/.