Automobiles

In response to a reader’s question about self-driving cars, Mercury News reporter Gary Richards describes new technology in the works by MIT researchers to allow, “driverless cars to change lanes more like human drivers do.”

USA Today reporter Marco della Cava writes that a study by MIT researchers shows drivers typically use Tesla’s Autopilot software for highway driving. Della Cava writes that Research Engineer Bryan Reimer underscored that the findings show there is a need for, “an increase in driver education on the part of stakeholders such as automakers, dealers and perhaps even licensing authorities.”

MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that can accurately determine how many taxis a city needs, providing a way to reduce the number of cars on the road, according to Xinhua. “Using the new algorithm, they found the fleet size of cab-hailing service in New York could be cut down by about 30 percent in an optimal scenario.”

Research Specialist Hillary Abraham speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Adrienne Roberts about a new AgeLab study examining why car dealers often have trouble explaining a car’s advanced safety technology. “Ultimately, it seemed to come down to lack of training, high turnover and the expectation of more work post-sale,” Abraham explains.

Using LiDAR sensors, MIT researchers have developed an autonomous vehicle navigation system for rural roads with “no detailed, three-dimensional map for the vehicle to reference,” reports Rob Verger of Popular Science. “The solution for urban mapping really doesn’t scale very well to a huge portion of the country,” explains graduate student Teddy Ort.

MapLite, a system developed by CSAIL researchers, allows autonomous vehicles to drive on roads they’ve never driven before without 3D maps, writes Andrew Hawkins of The Verge. If it becomes commercial, MapLite could ensure “that the safety benefits from autonomous driving [are] extended to residents in rural communities,” suggests Hawkins.

CSAIL researchers have developed a system that uses LIDAR and GPS to allow self-driving cars to navigate rural roads without detailed maps, writes Tracey Lindeman of Motherboard. Autonomous ride-hailing or car-sharing is important in rural communities because “the carless in these areas have few transportation options; many small communities don’t even have public buses,” notes Lindeman.

CSAIL researchers have discovered that some traffic jams are caused by tailgating, writes Thomas Tamblyn for HuffPost. Maintaining an equal distance in front of and behind a vehicle, “could have a dramatic effect in reducing travel time and fuel consumption without having to build more roads or make other changes to infrastructure,” explains Prof. Berthold Horn. 

Forbes reporter Laurie Winkless writes that MIT researchers have found that if drivers maintained fixed distances between the cars in front of and behind them they would be able to reduce traffic jams. “We humans tend to view the world in terms of what’s ahead of us, so it might seem counter-intuitive to look backwards,” explains Prof. Berthold Horn.

CNN reporter Matt McFarland writes that CSAIL researchers have proposed that outfitting cars with cruise control systems that maintain equal distances between cars could help alleviate phantom traffic jams. The researchers’ simulations showed, “keeping the same distance between the vehicle in front and the vehicle trailing a car prevents traffic jams.”

CSAIL researchers have found that if drivers could maintain an equal distance between cars they would be able to reduce the number of traffic jams, reports Matt Burgess for Wired. The researchers found that, “by adding sensors to the back of cars that take into account the speed of following vehicles, it will be possible to better regulate traffic.”

Research engineer Bryan Reimer speaks with Ashley Halsey of The Washington Post about the need for a national conversation to determine how safe driverless cars should be before they become more widely available. “Unless we have defined how safe is safe enough — and we are in agreement — the nature of politics is that fingers will point at each other,” says Reimer.

Researchers at MIT will begin studying how Boston-area drivers interact with driver assistance systems, reports Aarian Marshall for Wired. Research Engineer Bryan Reimer explains that he and his colleagues hope to gain a better understanding for how, “driving is beginning to transform from one where the human has primary oversight responsibility to one where the human is actively engaged in a robotic interaction with the vehicle.” 

In a letter to The Financial Times, Prof. Jessika Trancik, postdoc Geoffrey Supran, and graduate student Marco Miotti clarify results from a study the lab released last year that compares emissions of gas and electric vehicles. “Not only do electric cars usually emit less than petrol ones already, but over time, as the carbon footprint of electricity continues to fall, that gap will widen,” the researchers explain.

Sara Clemence writes for Bloomberg that MIT is working with Lamborghini on developing a new electric supercar. Working with two labs at MIT, Lamorghini plans to essentially turn the car into a battery by making “supercapacitors out of carbon fiber panels that can be used to form the body of the car,” explains Clemence.