無人駕駛汽車離你有多近
Informed conversations about self-driving cars nolonger are about feasibility. New key talking pointsare "When?" and "Which automakers first?" and"Who will be responsible when an accident happens?"
消息靈通人士關(guān)于自動(dòng)駕駛汽車的深談已經(jīng)與可行性無關(guān)了,現(xiàn)在大家關(guān)注的焦點(diǎn)是“什么時(shí)候上市?,“哪家汽車廠商會首先推出這種車?以及“如果發(fā)生事故,責(zé)任到底在哪方?
Nissan has said it will sell a driverless car by 2023.IHS forecast several models available by 2025.Both of these are guesses -- but they indicate howfast the technology is progressing.
日產(chǎn)汽車(Nissan)已經(jīng)表示將于2023年銷售無人駕駛汽車。IHS咨詢公司預(yù)計(jì),到2025年,市場將推出好幾款此類車型。這兩個(gè)消息都有猜測的性質(zhì)——但它們表明,這項(xiàng)技術(shù)的發(fā)展是何等神速。
What seemed unimaginable a decade ago becomes more practical, comprehensible, and realby the day. Google's (GOOG) self-driving Toyota Prius (TM) has logged hundreds of thousandsof miles without incident on California roads. Most automakers are testing self-driving cars ontracks and -- lately, as I experienced earlier this week in Las Vegas -- in traffic.
十年前還顯得那么不可思議的事情現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)變得十分可行,可以理解,而且無比真實(shí)了。谷歌(Google)那輛自動(dòng)駕駛豐田普銳斯(Toyota Prius)已經(jīng)在加州的公路上安全行駛了上萬英里,沒有出過任何事故。大多數(shù)汽車廠商正在賽道上測試自動(dòng)駕駛汽車,同時(shí)——最近,正如我本周初在拉斯維加斯體驗(yàn)的——也在真實(shí)路況中開展這種測試。
The Audi A7 equipped with "traffic jam assist" was programmed to drive itself slowly in heavytraffic at no more than 40 miles per hour. (Dr. Bjorn Giesler, head of Audi's project team, wasbehind the wheel.) The car was loaded with cameras, sensors, and a special device thatmonitors a driver's eyes to ensure he or she doesn't fall asleep at the wheel. In that event, thecar will safely slow down, stop, and call for help.
奧迪A7搭載了一套“堵車輔助系統(tǒng),它能在嚴(yán)重?fù)矶碌能嚵髦幸悦啃r(shí)不超過40英里的時(shí)速自動(dòng)駕駛(測試時(shí)奧迪項(xiàng)目組組長比約恩?吉斯勒博士就坐在駕駛席上)。這輛車上裝了各種攝像頭、傳感器和一套特殊設(shè)備,能監(jiān)測駕駛者眼睛的情況,以確保司機(jī)開車時(shí)不要睡著。如果司機(jī)真的睡著了,這輛車就會穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地減速、停止行駛,請求援助。
Think of a driverless car as a robot. For Audi and other automakers, a key question is howmuch of the driving should be done by the robot, how much by the driver. The driver decides.Executives at Audi and other automakers say the driver, in any case, must remain engagedand attentive, ready to take over in the event of the unexpected: a car travelling the wrongway or out of control, for example.
大家不妨把無人駕駛汽車看成是機(jī)器人。對奧迪公司(Audi)和其他汽車廠商來說,關(guān)鍵問題是駕駛中到底有多少該由機(jī)器人來完成,多少該由駕駛者來完成。這其實(shí)最終還是取決于駕駛者自己。奧迪和其他品牌的高管都表示,駕駛者無論如何都必須保持介入和警覺,發(fā)生開錯(cuò)道或失控這類意外時(shí)要能隨時(shí)重新接管車輛。
Audi executives won't use the word "driverless;" instead they speak about "piloted" driving.Other auto executives talk about "autonomous" or "assisted" driving. Only Google is adamantthat it wants a driverless car, one that can help the elderly and the blind, as well as anyone whowould rather be reading a book.
奧迪的高管從來不用“無人駕駛這個(gè)字眼,他們說的是“引導(dǎo)式駕駛。其他品牌的高管說的則是“自動(dòng)或“輔助駕駛。只有谷歌堅(jiān)稱自己要研發(fā)的就是無人駕駛汽車,也就是能幫助老年人和盲人,以及那些寧可在車上讀書的人的自動(dòng)駕駛汽車。
Today's Audis and many other brands already may be equipped with features like adaptivecruise control that keeps a car a safe distance and constant speed behind cars ahead. Severalhave dynamic lane assist, which warn when a car is leaving a lane inadvertently -- and cangently steer the car back.
如今奧迪和其他很多品牌可能都搭載了自適應(yīng)巡航控制系統(tǒng)這類配置,能讓汽車與前車保持安全距離,同時(shí)維持勻速行駛。還有幾個(gè)品牌采用了動(dòng)態(tài)車道輔助系統(tǒng),車輛無意中偏離車道時(shí)能發(fā)出預(yù)警,同時(shí)輕輕地讓車回到正確的車道上。
Given a multitude of sensors, weather conditions, road changes, pedestrians, and other vehicles-- robotic logic must be able to decide safely and instantaneously whether to turn, accelerate,or brake. The software, hardware, and algorithms that sift all this information are gettingcheaper, smaller, and faster. Last year, the control systems filled the trunk of an Audi vehicle;this year, custom chips that function as the brain sit on a board about the size of a book.
在大量傳感器、各種天氣條件、路況變化、各種行人和其他車輛并存的情況下——機(jī)器人邏輯必須能安全及時(shí)地做出轉(zhuǎn)彎、加速和剎車的決定。而相關(guān)的軟硬件,以及處理所有這些信息的算法現(xiàn)在都日益便宜、小型化并且運(yùn)算速度更快。去年奧迪試驗(yàn)車輛的后備箱里還塞滿了控制系統(tǒng);而今年,作為車輛大腦、位于儀表板上的定制芯片只有一本書那么大。
State and federal regulators still must decide under what circumstances to permit so-calledautonomous systems or, perhaps, whether to mandate features like adaptive cruise controlor lane assist, if they are deemed to make automobile travel more safe.
現(xiàn)在,美國各州和聯(lián)邦政府的監(jiān)管者還是得決定在什么情況下可以允許采用這些所謂的自動(dòng)系統(tǒng)。或者說,如果這些系統(tǒng)確實(shí)被認(rèn)為可使汽車更安全的話,是否應(yīng)要求廠商都標(biāo)配自適應(yīng)巡航控制或車道輔助系統(tǒng)。
Auto insurance today is a very straightforward process. But what about when a piloted carhits a pedestrian? Or when a truck hits a piloted car? Once piloted driving becomes morecommon, real-world experience will show how many accidents happen. Actuaries have statisticaltools for assessing how much accidents will cost and, therefore, how much everyone will pay ininsurance premiums.
如今的汽車保險(xiǎn)流程非常簡單。但是,如果自動(dòng)駕駛汽車撞了行人怎么辦?或者說,如果卡車撞了自動(dòng)駕駛汽車又怎么辦?一旦自動(dòng)駕駛汽車變得日益普及,實(shí)際情況就會告訴我們到底會發(fā)生多少事故。保險(xiǎn)精算師手里有統(tǒng)計(jì)工具,能算出這些事故會造成多大損失,也能算出每個(gè)人要付多少保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)。
As for legal responsibility, a question at an Audi press conference summed it up this way: "Ifa car without a driver has an accident, who is responsible: the driver? The owner of the car?Audi?" No one has answered the questions definitively, but it's a good bet that driverless carswill be involved in far fewer accidents than ones with -- otherwise, why have them?
至于說法律責(zé)任,奧迪資訊發(fā)布會的一個(gè)問題是這么概括的:“如果一輛沒有駕駛者的車出了事故,到底該誰負(fù)責(zé):司機(jī)?車主?還是奧迪?沒人有確切答案。但可以肯定的是,無人駕駛汽車出事的概率會比傳統(tǒng)汽車要低——否則干嘛要研發(fā)它們呢?
Informed conversations about self-driving cars nolonger are about feasibility. New key talking pointsare "When?" and "Which automakers first?" and"Who will be responsible when an accident happens?"
消息靈通人士關(guān)于自動(dòng)駕駛汽車的深談已經(jīng)與可行性無關(guān)了,現(xiàn)在大家關(guān)注的焦點(diǎn)是“什么時(shí)候上市?,“哪家汽車廠商會首先推出這種車?以及“如果發(fā)生事故,責(zé)任到底在哪方?
Nissan has said it will sell a driverless car by 2023.IHS forecast several models available by 2025.Both of these are guesses -- but they indicate howfast the technology is progressing.
日產(chǎn)汽車(Nissan)已經(jīng)表示將于2023年銷售無人駕駛汽車。IHS咨詢公司預(yù)計(jì),到2025年,市場將推出好幾款此類車型。這兩個(gè)消息都有猜測的性質(zhì)——但它們表明,這項(xiàng)技術(shù)的發(fā)展是何等神速。
What seemed unimaginable a decade ago becomes more practical, comprehensible, and realby the day. Google's (GOOG) self-driving Toyota Prius (TM) has logged hundreds of thousandsof miles without incident on California roads. Most automakers are testing self-driving cars ontracks and -- lately, as I experienced earlier this week in Las Vegas -- in traffic.
十年前還顯得那么不可思議的事情現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)變得十分可行,可以理解,而且無比真實(shí)了。谷歌(Google)那輛自動(dòng)駕駛豐田普銳斯(Toyota Prius)已經(jīng)在加州的公路上安全行駛了上萬英里,沒有出過任何事故。大多數(shù)汽車廠商正在賽道上測試自動(dòng)駕駛汽車,同時(shí)——最近,正如我本周初在拉斯維加斯體驗(yàn)的——也在真實(shí)路況中開展這種測試。
The Audi A7 equipped with "traffic jam assist" was programmed to drive itself slowly in heavytraffic at no more than 40 miles per hour. (Dr. Bjorn Giesler, head of Audi's project team, wasbehind the wheel.) The car was loaded with cameras, sensors, and a special device thatmonitors a driver's eyes to ensure he or she doesn't fall asleep at the wheel. In that event, thecar will safely slow down, stop, and call for help.
奧迪A7搭載了一套“堵車輔助系統(tǒng),它能在嚴(yán)重?fù)矶碌能嚵髦幸悦啃r(shí)不超過40英里的時(shí)速自動(dòng)駕駛(測試時(shí)奧迪項(xiàng)目組組長比約恩?吉斯勒博士就坐在駕駛席上)。這輛車上裝了各種攝像頭、傳感器和一套特殊設(shè)備,能監(jiān)測駕駛者眼睛的情況,以確保司機(jī)開車時(shí)不要睡著。如果司機(jī)真的睡著了,這輛車就會穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地減速、停止行駛,請求援助。
Think of a driverless car as a robot. For Audi and other automakers, a key question is howmuch of the driving should be done by the robot, how much by the driver. The driver decides.Executives at Audi and other automakers say the driver, in any case, must remain engagedand attentive, ready to take over in the event of the unexpected: a car travelling the wrongway or out of control, for example.
大家不妨把無人駕駛汽車看成是機(jī)器人。對奧迪公司(Audi)和其他汽車廠商來說,關(guān)鍵問題是駕駛中到底有多少該由機(jī)器人來完成,多少該由駕駛者來完成。這其實(shí)最終還是取決于駕駛者自己。奧迪和其他品牌的高管都表示,駕駛者無論如何都必須保持介入和警覺,發(fā)生開錯(cuò)道或失控這類意外時(shí)要能隨時(shí)重新接管車輛。
Audi executives won't use the word "driverless;" instead they speak about "piloted" driving.Other auto executives talk about "autonomous" or "assisted" driving. Only Google is adamantthat it wants a driverless car, one that can help the elderly and the blind, as well as anyone whowould rather be reading a book.
奧迪的高管從來不用“無人駕駛這個(gè)字眼,他們說的是“引導(dǎo)式駕駛。其他品牌的高管說的則是“自動(dòng)或“輔助駕駛。只有谷歌堅(jiān)稱自己要研發(fā)的就是無人駕駛汽車,也就是能幫助老年人和盲人,以及那些寧可在車上讀書的人的自動(dòng)駕駛汽車。
Today's Audis and many other brands already may be equipped with features like adaptivecruise control that keeps a car a safe distance and constant speed behind cars ahead. Severalhave dynamic lane assist, which warn when a car is leaving a lane inadvertently -- and cangently steer the car back.
如今奧迪和其他很多品牌可能都搭載了自適應(yīng)巡航控制系統(tǒng)這類配置,能讓汽車與前車保持安全距離,同時(shí)維持勻速行駛。還有幾個(gè)品牌采用了動(dòng)態(tài)車道輔助系統(tǒng),車輛無意中偏離車道時(shí)能發(fā)出預(yù)警,同時(shí)輕輕地讓車回到正確的車道上。
Given a multitude of sensors, weather conditions, road changes, pedestrians, and other vehicles-- robotic logic must be able to decide safely and instantaneously whether to turn, accelerate,or brake. The software, hardware, and algorithms that sift all this information are gettingcheaper, smaller, and faster. Last year, the control systems filled the trunk of an Audi vehicle;this year, custom chips that function as the brain sit on a board about the size of a book.
在大量傳感器、各種天氣條件、路況變化、各種行人和其他車輛并存的情況下——機(jī)器人邏輯必須能安全及時(shí)地做出轉(zhuǎn)彎、加速和剎車的決定。而相關(guān)的軟硬件,以及處理所有這些信息的算法現(xiàn)在都日益便宜、小型化并且運(yùn)算速度更快。去年奧迪試驗(yàn)車輛的后備箱里還塞滿了控制系統(tǒng);而今年,作為車輛大腦、位于儀表板上的定制芯片只有一本書那么大。
State and federal regulators still must decide under what circumstances to permit so-calledautonomous systems or, perhaps, whether to mandate features like adaptive cruise controlor lane assist, if they are deemed to make automobile travel more safe.
現(xiàn)在,美國各州和聯(lián)邦政府的監(jiān)管者還是得決定在什么情況下可以允許采用這些所謂的自動(dòng)系統(tǒng)。或者說,如果這些系統(tǒng)確實(shí)被認(rèn)為可使汽車更安全的話,是否應(yīng)要求廠商都標(biāo)配自適應(yīng)巡航控制或車道輔助系統(tǒng)。
Auto insurance today is a very straightforward process. But what about when a piloted carhits a pedestrian? Or when a truck hits a piloted car? Once piloted driving becomes morecommon, real-world experience will show how many accidents happen. Actuaries have statisticaltools for assessing how much accidents will cost and, therefore, how much everyone will pay ininsurance premiums.
如今的汽車保險(xiǎn)流程非常簡單。但是,如果自動(dòng)駕駛汽車撞了行人怎么辦?或者說,如果卡車撞了自動(dòng)駕駛汽車又怎么辦?一旦自動(dòng)駕駛汽車變得日益普及,實(shí)際情況就會告訴我們到底會發(fā)生多少事故。保險(xiǎn)精算師手里有統(tǒng)計(jì)工具,能算出這些事故會造成多大損失,也能算出每個(gè)人要付多少保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)。
As for legal responsibility, a question at an Audi press conference summed it up this way: "Ifa car without a driver has an accident, who is responsible: the driver? The owner of the car?Audi?" No one has answered the questions definitively, but it's a good bet that driverless carswill be involved in far fewer accidents than ones with -- otherwise, why have them?
至于說法律責(zé)任,奧迪資訊發(fā)布會的一個(gè)問題是這么概括的:“如果一輛沒有駕駛者的車出了事故,到底該誰負(fù)責(zé):司機(jī)?車主?還是奧迪?沒人有確切答案。但可以肯定的是,無人駕駛汽車出事的概率會比傳統(tǒng)汽車要低——否則干嘛要研發(fā)它們呢?