Session A7
6116
Disclaimer — This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University
of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is based on
publicly available information and may not be provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used for any
purpose other than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at
the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or her own risk.
THE APPLICATION OF LIDAR RADAR TECHNOLOGY IN GOOGLE’S
AUTONOMOUS CARS
Diana Blasi, DIB27@pitt.edu, Bursic, 2:00, Casey Cloonan, CAC260@pitt.edu, Lora, 4:00
Revised Proposal — As the technology of our modern age
advances, society is better equipped at producing new
inventions and innovations that improve the way we live. One
such invention, with the potential to truly change the status
quo, is the introduction of self-driving cars. Compared to cars
on the road today, these new autonomous vehicles are able to
operate without any interaction or input from the driver.
At the head of this movement is Google Incorporated. The
company is producing and testing a new autonomous
prototype. Google’s prototype works through the use of LIDAR
(light-detection-and-ranging) technology, in particular the
Velodyne 64D laser sensor system. This system works by
bouncing 64 spinning lasers off of surrounding surfaces to
measure the distance away from the car, collecting roughly 1.3
million points/second [1]. It then incorporates vision cameras
and algorithmic vision processing systems to create an
accurate image of its surroundings [2].
The introduction of autonomous cars has the potential to
greatly impact society because autonomous cars are much
safer on the roads than traditionally driven cars. Traditional
cars rely too heavily on the driver to control the vehicle when
in reality drivers are highly susceptible to human error.
Examples of this human error include drunk driving or other
forms of distracted driving, which lead to unnecessary
accidents and consequently injuries and deaths. Autonomous
cars eliminate this problem as they are programmed with high
accuracy to be driven on their own.
Although the thought of self-operated cars might have been a
fantasy in the past, these cars now have the potential to
revolutionize the automobile industry. It was reported by the
Association for Safe International Road Travel that
approximately 1.3 million people die each year due to car
accidents; that’s 3,287 people per day. The number of deaths
resulting
from
car
accidents
is
unnecessarily
high. Autonomous cars could be the solution as they are much
safer and could reduce the number of fatal accidents. Even
though autonomous cars may initially have a high cost, their
benefit to society in the long run outweighs the price. The
future for autonomous cars is limitless and if these new cars
are created successfully, they have the potential to be an
invention that positively affects society for centuries to come.
The research thus far has led to an abundance of information
about the sensors that operate autonomous cars. The main
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering 1
29 January, 2016
argument against autonomous cars stems from the fact that a
machine potentially decides who lives or dies in the case of an
accident. This paper will thoroughly detail the intelligence of
the Velodyne 64D laser sensor system, which will help to
ethically justify the use of autonomous cars in everyday life.
REFERENCES
[1] R. Whitwam. (Sept. 8, 2014). “How Google’s Self-driving
Cars Detect and Avoid Obstacles.” Extreme Tech. (Online
Article).
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/189486-how-googlesself-driving-cars-detect-and-avoid-obstacles
[2] M. Conner. (May 26, 2011). “Automobile Sensors May
Usher in Self-Driving Cars.” EDN Network. (Online Article).
http://www.edn.com/design/automotive/4368069/Automobile
-sensors-may-usher-in-self-driving-cars
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
H. Alexander, J. Nida-Rümelin. (2014). “Responsibility for
Crashes of Autonomous Vehicles: An Ethical Analysis.”
Science & Engineering Ethics. (Print)
This article, written by engineers, is in the journal of
Science and Engineering Ethics. It provides an analysis on the
ethics of allowing autonomous cars on the road. Proponents of
autonomous cars are against technology making life or death
decisions. This article addresses the difficulty of placing blame
in the case of an accident. This analysis will provide the paper
with information that will refute arguments against
autonomous cars.
M. Conner. (May 26, 2011). “Automobile Sensors May Usher
in Self-Driving Cars.” EDN Network. (Online Article).
http://www.edn.com/design/automotive/4368069/Automobile
-sensors-may-usher-in-self-driving-cars
This article is written on a technology website supported by
the media company UBM. The article outlines the importance
of transitioning to autonomous cars, as they will decrease the
death toll associated with car accidents. The article describes
the features of the car that contribute to its higher safety, such
Diana Blasi
Casey Cloonan
as the LIDAR Radar. This article coincides with the major
points of safety we want to emphasize in our paper.
This article reports the first ever accident that an
autonomous car has been involved in. The specific car was a
Google vehicle, and it was reported that the accident was not
the autonomous car’s fault, as it was rear-ended. Given that
this is the only accident an autonomous car has ever been
involved in, and it wasn’t even the car’s fault, this proves that
autonomous cars are safer than traditional cars, a major aspect
in our paper.
E. Guerra. (2015, May). “When Autonomous Cars Take to the
Road.” Plan Magazine. (Print). pp. 36-38.
This article, in the American Planning Association
Magazine, summarizes the early prototypes of autonomous
cars. The American Planning Association is an institution of
professional planners who help to better communities through
communications with government officials, business leaders,
and citizens in the United States. This article is a good general
source, as it states the functions, purpose, and pros and cons of
autonomous cars.
R. Whitwam. (Sept. 8, 2014). “How Google’s Self-driving
Cars Detect and Avoid Obstacles.” Extreme Tech. (Online
Article).
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/189486-how-googlesself-driving-cars-detect-and-avoid-obstacles
This article is written by a group of experienced technology
users, part of an online technology website. The article
describes how the Velodyne 64d Laser sensor system works,
by projecting laser beams to create an accurate virtual image
of a car’s surroundings. The article is current and relevant to
our paper and allows us to describe how the system works in
order to support our claim for its importance.
F. Mutz, L. P. Veronese, T. Oliveira-Santos, E. Aguiar, F. A.
A. Cheein, A. F. D. Souza. (2016). “Large-scale mapping in
complex field scenarios using an autonomous car.” Expert
Systems with Applications. (Print). Vol. 46. pp. 439-462
This technical article, written by engineers and scientists, is
from a journal called “Expert Systems With Applications.”
This is a very detailed text (about twenty pages long) that
discusses the specific technology of the sensors that help
autonomous cars detect obstacles in order to safely drive on
public roads. This article will provide necessary information to
explain the technology behind autonomous cars.
M. Ramsey, M. Spector. (2016). “U.S. Proposes Spending $4
Billion to Encourage Driverless Cars.” The Wall Street
Journal. (Online article).
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-proposesspending-4-billion-on-driverless-car-guidelines-1452798787
This source is from a current and popular newspaper. The
article discusses how the Obama Administration is planning on
spending $4 billion to further the progress of autonomous
cars. The article emphasizes the point of autonomous cars
being about making driving safer and not about making
humans be “lazy”, a point we want to use.. . The articles also
specifies regulations that will be put into place to make
autonomous cars easier to produce and obtain.
S. Thrun. (2011). “Google’s Driverless Car.” Ted Talks.
(Video).
https://www.ted.com/talks/sebastian_thrun_google_s_driverle
ss_car?language=en#t-151400
This source is a Ted Talk presented by engineer and director
of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab, Sebastian Thrun.
Sebastian, having lost a dear friend to a car accidents at the age
of 18, is passionate about autonomous cars. He is one of the
first engineers to work on Google’s autonomous cars, and in
his talk he explains how autonomous cars will reduce fatal
accidents.
T. R. Weiss. (2015). “A Google Self-Driving Car Is Hit from
Behind, Leads to First Injury.” eWeek. (Online Article).
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/a-google-self-driving-car-ishit-from-behind-leads-to-first-injury.html
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