[nfbwatlk] PA Congressman takes ride

[Becky Frankeberger]

If you are following the driverless car developments, you'll be interested
in the following event that took place yesterday:

 

Congressman takes ride in a driverless car in Pa

Kevin Begos, Associated Press

Posted: Thursday, September 5, 2013, 1:08 AM 

 

PITTSBURGH - A Pennsylvania congressman caught a cutting-edge ride to the
airport on Wednesday. 

Rep. Bill Shuster (R., Altoona) made a 33-mile trip from Cranberry Township
to Pittsburgh International Airport in a computer-operated car. 

 

The so-called driverless Cadillac SRX was designed by Carnegie Mellon
University researchers who have been working on the project since 2008. The
car uses inputs from radars, laser range finders, and infrared cameras to
maneuver in traffic. 

 

Shuster is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee. He was accompanied by Barry Schoch, secretary of the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation. 

 

 

Shuster saw a Carnegie Mellon test vehicle about five years ago, and said it
was crammed so full of equipment that there wasn't even room for a person
inside. Now, the 2011 Cadillac is basically a standard model with all the
sensors and electronics discreetly hidden. It didn't look out of place on
the drive to the airport, which began in a suburban area with stop-and-go
traffic and then reached speeds of about 65 m.p.h. on a major highway. A
Carnegie Mellon engineer was in the driver's seat as a safety precaution. 

Shuster said he can now imagine a future where such vehicles enter the
mainstream, potentially reducing accidents, fatalities and congestion on
roads. But there's also a military angle. 

 

"It's going to be great for our military to able to send vehicles into
combat without people in them," Shuster said. 

 

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency began holding
competitions for driverless vehicles in 2004, and a Carnegie Mellon team won
the 2007 race, along with a $2 million prize. Raj Rajkumar, the leader of
the Carnegie Mellon project, said the biggest design challenge for
driverless vehicles is managing unpredictable events. 

 

"It takes a long time to be taught all the things we know" about driving,
Rajkumar said of the software. 

 

Rajkumar thinks some driverless cars may reach the marketplace by 2020,
though some experts say it will take longer. General Motors, Nissan, and
Google are all working on projects, as are other universities.

 

This article can be found online at:

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130905_Congressman_takes_ride_in_a_d
riverless_car_in_Pa_.html