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BMW develops car that can drive itself
Monday, 17 October 2011
For years experts have been fascinated about developing a vehicle that can drive itself. We’ve all seen Herbie and the Batmobile on our cinema screens but BMW has taken it to the next level by developing two cars that can drive themselves.
This exciting pair of autonomous 5 Series vehicles are capable of driving themselves along a motorway with the use of 12 in-built sensors around the car. These sensors provide information to the mainframe in the boot of the vehicle, sending it along the road using a highly-advanced GPS system and an upgraded version of BMW’s cruise control and lane marking detection systems.
The vehicle was tested on-road, with a driver remaining in charge before joining and after exiting the motorway due to legislation for driving a prototype. The car travels with pin-point accuracy, correcting itself on its own whilst using the GPS system to react to changes in the road surface and surrounding traffic.
If you were thinking of looking at prices for this autonomous 5 Series, hold your horses – the car is a long way from finished and it’s almost certain to never reach production anyway. The vehicle is being used as an extensive test for future driving aids that will be put to good use in future BMW customer cars.
Anything that can improve the safety of motorists at the wheel should be looked upon as a positive, with BMW also looking at Congestion Assists to drive in heavy traffic and an Emergency Stop Assist for detecting a sudden decline in a driver’s health.
However, in instances when drivers are unable to avoid an accident the importance of an efficient and effective way of transporting salvage vehicles away from the scene cannot be underestimated, helping to avoid further road disturbances.
ASM’s vehicle transport service provides salvage car transporters with the latest technologies to enable the safe and environmentally friendly recovery of all end-of-life, damaged and stolen-recovered vehicles.
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