"Kit, bring me to the bank on 23rd. Pronto." Everyone remembers the TV show, "Nightrider". Was Kit, the talking, intelligent car, an early sign of Artificial Life? Definitely. We all knew it would happen someday, and talking computers, robots, and probably even cars don't seem too far off.
The line between AI and just another macine, though has become fuzzy. New cars made in Germany include an auto-driving system that can automatically "take-over", if the driver becomes unstable on the road. In the S Class Mercedes, currently on the road, computers can control the distance between the car in front of you, and yourself, by controlling speed. Maybe this car doesn't talk to you, but at least it takes car of the driving, and you could probably still talk to it if you wanted.
New systems will even navigate around busy urban conditions, but, unfortunately, these cars are merely "computers", and therefore, can only regulate the steering, and speed in accordance with their surroundings. Lane separators are somewhat redundant, as they may be absent due to weathering, or even obstructed by other cars crossing lanes. Therefore, newer systems usually just depend on other cars to change speed. This also causes problems because the other cars may not neccessarily be driving "perfectly", either.
Another system being developed on grant for BMW by Andrew Plummer, a mechanical engineer at Leeds University, uses pre-set maps which it compares to photographs taken of it surroundings. Some problems immediately arise from this, as these pre-set maps are computer generated, and are literally "perfect". What happens if there is some large garbage on the road, or even constrtuction? There are a lot of things to be worked out with this, and in some countries, for this system to be used, the law would have to be changed. For example, in Britain, it is illegal to use any sort of automatic brake or steering control.
The bottom line is, it's going to be a while before we see this system implemented, but "Nightrider", just might not be too far off. But personal driving systems are just the beginning of A-Life.
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"Kit, bring me to the bank on 23rd. Pronto." Everyone remembers the TV show, "Nightrider". Was Kit, the talking, intelligent car, an early sign of Artificial Life? Definitely. We all knew it would happen someday, and talking computers, robots, and probably even cars don't seem too far off. 
The line between AI and just another macine, though has become fuzzy. New cars made in Germany include an auto-driving system that can automatically "take-over", if the driver becomes unstable on the road. In the S Class Mercedes, currently on the road, computers can control the distance between the car in front of you, and yourself, by controlling speed. Maybe this car doesn't talk to you, but at least it takes car of the driving, and you could probably still talk to it if you wanted.
Another system being developed on grant for BMW by Andrew Plummer, a mechanical engineer at Leeds University, uses pre-set maps which it compares to photographs taken of it surroundings. Some problems immediately arise from this, as these pre-set maps are computer generated, and are literally "perfect". What happens if there is some large garbage on the road, or even constrtuction? There are a lot of things to be worked out with this, and in some countries, for this system to be used, the law would have to be changed. For example, in Britain, it is illegal to use any sort of automatic brake or steering control. 
The bottom line is, it's going to be a while before we see this system implemented, but "Nightrider", just might not be too far off. But personal driving systems are just the beginning of A-Life.