你是否曾想像过,有一天驾车上班的路上,不必再全神贯注地手把方向盘、脚踩刹车,而是悠闲地看报纸、喝茶或聊天,因为有全自动无人驾驶汽车载着你在车海中灵活穿行。如今,德国一家公司应用先进科技把无人驾驶汽车变成了现实。 ' o! @( z) t5 v/ d4 d! F9 t& ~3 O# b
2 c0 ?' w r! k
●智能汽车无人开 + V5 T7 _. g( c" T% D+ V q+ v* B- W, y+ F' L
在无人驾驶技术研究方面位于世界前列的德国汉堡Ibeo公司研制的无人驾驶汽车,11日在英国伦敦科学博物馆与公众见面。这辆无人驾驶智能汽车经德国大众汽车公司生产的帕萨特2.0改装而成,外表看来与普通家庭汽车并无差别,但却可以在错综复杂的城市公路系统中无人驾驶。这归功于车内安装的无人驾驶设备,包括激光扫描仪、全球定位仪和智能计算机。 ) C. b& `. k8 D1 E " z( @7 N% T6 L. A; `& H% Z 德国Team Lux公司已将这种无人驾驶技术应用于家庭车型。“目前,无人驾驶汽车还不能合法上路,但它早晚能做到,”Team Lux公司工作人员弗尔克尔•威尔霍夫特说,“我们能将这种(无人驾驶)设备安装在家庭汽车上,这将使我们的社会更加安全。” % d: ]+ |& N. D9 S* J- f& a0 o8 V) t7 K3 N3 X; G; @- M
Ibeo公司发言人卡琳•迪普考特透露,Ibeo公司已经同全球几家主要汽车生产商,如大众、宝马、克莱斯勒等进行磋商,预计今年内能够投入生产。 * N$ N4 O9 k' x; ?
& ~7 A/ h1 b' u ●前后装了“两只眼” , v2 q( g% X' m: A! H . e( G* s' G' p* g) J% l* F: U$ f Ibeo公司发言人迪普考特向参观者介绍了这款无人驾驶汽车的先进之处。 7 Q Y E* X, l, _ b% C/ X/ G, g9 z) R" V: y; |
行驶过程中,车内安装的全球定位仪随时获取汽车所在准确方位的信息数据。 " A% L( ^6 W0 r8 h4 E4 W
. ^1 \5 u9 e: m
隐藏在前灯和尾灯附近的激光扫描仪是汽车的“眼”,它们随时“观察”汽车周围约183米内的道路状况,构建三维道路模型。 ) R' Q5 N2 ` [8 Y0 H f& ^0 W) Y4 G
除此之外,“眼”还能识别各种交通标识,如速度限制、红绿灯、车道划分、停靠点等,保证汽车在遵守交通规则的前提下安全行驶。 : C- m6 i: @$ g1 Y3 M& k
& B* v% s/ h9 ^7 l" C4 Q
最后由无人驾驶汽车的“脑”———安装在汽车后备箱内的计算机,将两组数据汇合、分析,并根据结果向汽车传达相应的行驶命令。 8 { J# a! j; R( C 6 }; B. M3 P# k% `9 p 多项先进科技确保这款无人驾驶汽车能够灵活换挡、加速、转弯、刹车甚至倒车。在茫茫车海和人海中,它能巧妙避开建筑、障碍物、其他车辆和行人,从容前行。 9 G, G5 i9 I, {4 w; u* k% V9 b- R
●接受都市挑战 & Z. `$ E2 L( H7 U d# _
+ @) O" L6 y5 G Team Lux公司将携装有这种先进无人驾驶技术的汽车参加今年11月在美国举行的无人驾驶汽车拉力赛。 ) v6 J& V! e- {
7 I, w" V* Y+ Y
今年的比赛要求参赛汽车在美国某城市中心区行驶97公里,旨在考验无人驾驶汽车在错综复杂的城市交通系统下安全、快速行驶的能力。冠军将获得120万美元奖金。这一比赛由美国国防部高级研究计划局赞助,旨在为研发无人驾驶技术提供候选方案。比赛已分别于2005年和2003年举办两届。 ' h0 Z: @1 \1 o% u- w+ P, H9 p" m2 V+ n5 F* }. \( P. h5 O4 K
2005年比赛在加利福尼亚州莫哈韦沙漠举行,4辆无人驾驶汽车成功穿越212公里崎岖路段到达终点。冠军“斯坦尼”还被着名《连线》杂志评为“最佳智能机器人”。5 a" x& [7 r: I7 d3 z- Y1 J o
! ~& I' y" F# G0 i
; G3 H8 m& K# ~Driverless car goes on show in London / L" j2 l, @+ X* {+ E* w/ n6 `0 \7 s7 E! u& o
A car driven by a hi-tech ghost of laser sensors and computers has gone on exhibit in London, before it competes against other robot cars in the United States in November. ! b/ G% e r2 J/ i$ n: n. ?; V / y' _* x* o0 L( K% Y' {The Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI drives using two eye-like laser sensors in the front and one in the back that scan road conditions, buildings, other vehicles and pedestrians over a range of up to 200 metres. 9 O# P" `4 l) J T( c2 e5 @8 O) } 6 B1 y9 }% I# U5 g# MAn on-board computer digests and acts on the information using software developed by the Hamburg, Germany-based Ibeo Automobile Sensor company, said company experts displaying the car at the Science Museum in London. % e; Q* F" |5 m# y. {8 I, r: B) ~ / B! |5 c- A, ^In November, the car will compete against other driverless vehicles in the third annual US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge over a 60-mile course in America. ; }! @2 o+ b2 _* R3 U5 j& D2 B3 i' H2 a# b1 g
"We are competing against the world's best in terms of automobile technology," Ibeo chief executive Ulrich Lages said.$ B+ J" _* G: r9 B B( U& B- Z
" o! J* r( I9 z; M% @- c"Although we are a relatively small team and, unlike the big players, do not have a large budget, we believe we have a great chance at DARPA 2007," he said.& E2 Y- C, V$ e: a
0 @- m! S O8 {7 h. u' S"Our innovative laser technology gives us a lead of several years over our prospective rivals, especially in the field of object and environmental detection," he said. * A+ D, d6 Q4 y5 N: P7 j+ C. K3 c& x. r0 q, w. w/ b
Christened LUX, the refitted Volkswagen that looks exactly like a standard road model is due to go into small-scale production next year and the firm hopes that its technology can eventually be used in production cars. - c: u* G" @$ w8 C$ a$ n. C* d$ d - m" T2 X& C3 N4 |; oAt a conference in the US city of San Francisco in February, scientists predicted robot-driven cars could be shuttling humans around by the year 2030.