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。 & C: C$ D# [1 ` * w2 k1 W1 `3 V7 T' \ ●智能汽车无人开 & t- }5 `, n. C7 D ! |. V, w1 u1 ~' L4 Q$ ~ 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。 / K2 S& R7 m! d7 x% ]1 [" J! i0 L+ o
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。” ! \5 n* b2 I2 U' h1 G; V ( ]" J/ p3 [1 b( R( p& m5 | 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。 7 m: I% ^2 W. M) N5 ?2 Z& F2 ~7 w2 W
●前后装了“两只眼” - C7 d% p& `" k+ G2 ~$ n
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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。 8 B3 |& Q) |' A: ]8 f. z4 h) P" ?6 [4 n
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。 - i W( K+ g6 ]8 ^ Q( q% M8 \. a/ s) W. ] Y, e
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。 6 _# c3 }. t; |+ F* O 4 U0 X1 L6 {( I$ _. x1 S4 g: h 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。 # O' b. Y; o1 l8 Q$ m/ [, L9 d
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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。 4 ]( M7 t( _5 R, j' q
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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。 ; p0 k% X8 U) n' ? C, P) r
" A! W) m& h k; d# _' _% w ●接受都市挑战 % {! n& b1 G% p9 T& S
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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。 & z! g5 y3 D: D& t9 ]
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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。 * M' u+ _0 R5 Y8 C1 {8 C% Y- d/ h: j! ~* E V: t# o0 j
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”。4 w, i/ N; V; _+ v' ?* {+ s
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Driverless car goes on show in London' K, w. j# K! G0 I
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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.+ ]: e* d/ M2 q s
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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.0 o* V. r; e7 {
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An 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. / n5 a& d7 R3 f/ R9 C( j+ F& b - G4 v+ [# q1 w. K; N' C6 nIn 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./ b! z6 S8 p% t o5 V) s# V9 U
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"We are competing against the world's best in terms of automobile technology," Ibeo chief executive Ulrich Lages said., s J7 j1 T$ K* g
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"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." |/ z9 C- n$ _: b
3 K: }. O5 W# M"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. - x" W) B% N8 c% }7 U- y2 \7 A) a3 f* H; g3 v5 w
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. 2 q& O5 f5 }. z; O , J2 s S8 c8 p+ IAt 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.