美国发布无人驾驶汽车指南

AS IT IS 2016-09-23 US Announces Guidelines for Driverless Cars 美国发布无人驾驶汽车指南

The U.S. government has released new guidelines for the fast-developing technology of driverless cars.

The guidelines were announced Tuesday by the Department of Transportation. They were developed with companies working on the technology, as well as industry experts and safety groups.

The administration of President Barack Obama commented on the new guidelines. It said they will help bring about “the responsible introduction” of driverless cars in a “safe, clean, efficient” way.

Obama shared his thoughts on the technology this week in an editorial for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“In the seven-and-a-half years of my presidency¹, self-driving cars have gone from sci-fi fantasy to an emerging reality with the potential to transform the way we live,” he wrote.

But he added, “We have to get it right. Americans deserve to know they’ll be safe today even as we develop and deploy² the technologies of tomorrow.”

15-point safety standards

Obama said that is the goal of the new Federal Automated³ Vehicles Policy. It includes a list of 15 safety standards for the design and development of autonomous⁴ vehicles.

The standards set policies for testing vehicles and recording⁵ information about crashes. They also require developers to provide safeguards for system failures and outline their plans to prevent vehicle hacking⁶.

Officials said the policies are meant as suggestions to guide the industry, rather than rules backed by legal enforcement. But the guidelines give the government authority to carry out a recall on vehicle features that do not meet the safety standards.

“If a self-driving car isn't safe, we have the authority to pull it off the road,” Obama wrote in his editorial. “We won't hesitate to protect the American public's safety.”

Industry welcomes guidelines

The guidelines were welcomed as “an important step forward” by a group representing major companies involved in the technology. These include Uber, Google, Lyft, Ford⁷ and Volvo.

The service Uber is testing driverless cars in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently, the cars still have a human driver in the vehicle in case anything goes wrong.

Uber recently also announced a $300 million deal with an automobile⁸ manufacturer, Volvo. The companies are to cooperate on self-driving technology and the production of vehicles.

Ford has announced plans to make a self-driving car available by 2021. The car will have no steering⁹ wheel or pedal controls. At first, it will be sold to car-sharing services like Uber and Lyft. Later, it will go on sale to everyone.

Driverless cars will change cities

The chief executive officer of Uber’s main competitor, Lyft, recently offered a prediction about car ownership. John Zimmer wrote in a blog post that, "private car ownership will all but end in major U.S. cities.”

Zimmer wrote, “Every year, more and more people are concluding it is simpler and more affordable¹⁰ to live without a car.” He added, “And when networked autonomous vehicles come onto the scene, below the cost of car ownership, most city-dwellers will stop using a personal car altogether.”

Words in This Story

fantasy – n. something that imagined that is not real or true

standard – n. a certain level of acceptable quality

autonomous – adj. independent, existing separately from other things.

hacking – v. illegally gaining access to a computer

recall – n. – a request by a company for people to return a product because it has a defect or problem

pedal – n. a control on a piece of equipment that you push with your foot

affordable – adj. cheap, costing little

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

3 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

4 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

8 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

9 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

10 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。