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Robotic Cars
The HoverBot Rover model is a self-driving
robotic automobile. Can you imagine drivers
watching a movie or reading a book while they
drive around town? Or texting their friends while
driving — completely safely? Well, you can't do
that in conventional cars today, but self-driving
cars appear to be the way of the future.
Automotive engineers expect that by 2020 it will
be completely normal for some cars to drive
mostly on their own, and by 2030 most of the
cars on the roads will be self-driving, or
autonomous, vehicles. Many car companies and
tech companies are actively developing
autonomous vehicles. Below is a list of the
technologies used in self-driving cars:
• A 3D camera scans the roads for the driving lanes and traffic ahead.
• A laser scanner, called LIDAR, detects every street sign and traffic signal along with other
cars and pedestrians.
• Radar systems in the front and the back of the car keep the car from running into other
objects.
• A precise GPS navigation system determines the car's position down to inches.
• A computer will take all the data from the sensors on the car, process it, and make
virtually instantaneous decisions about the car's speed and direction.
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