Robot city to test driverless cars

 

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might seem to be aimed at convincing you of the possibility of seeing driverless cars on our roads a decade down the line, but we can surely not convince you enough to let driverless cars be tested on the roads in the near future. Just recently, an investigation by Associated Press revealed that four of the 48 self-driving cars on California’s roads have been involved in four accidents since September 2014. Foreseeing this danger, University of Michigan has set up M City, a US$ 6.5 million, 23-acre, driverless mini metropolis. The city, set to open in July, has 40 building facades, angled intersections, a traffic circle, a bridge, a tunnel, gravel roads, obstructed views and even a four-lane highway with entrance and exit ramps. It tries to emulate real-life chaos as well. It is possible to reroute traffic, change signal durations and alter road layouts and building facades. Bad weather, traffic jams, people jaywalking, moms pushing strollers and senior citizens crossing the roads are all a common sight at M City. Fortunately, these are just mechatronic pedestrians testing the sensors and automatic brakes of autonomous vehicles. Self-driving cars being tested there can sense each other, the environment and so on, to ease congestion and improve road safety. Car pooling in driverless cars, inter-car communications to optimise routes and pick-ups, etc can all be tested to help taxi operators improve the efficiency of operations. It is no wonder industry majors from Ford and Toyota to General Motors are eagerly awaiting the facility’s inauguration.