密歇根新闻广播 自动驾驶汽车不再是未来式

 

The University of Michigan has just opened a brand-new testing facility for autonomous¹ vehicles, or “AVs.”

MCity will test the AV technology in a very realistic off-roadway environment, a key step before connected and automated² vehicles and systems are deployed³ on actual roadways.

Autonomous vehicles are something of a rarity. Companies like Google are running some tests on real roads, but seeing one on the road is a little like spotting a hummingbird⁴ in your yard: a brief, fascinating sight, sparking curiosity as you watch it disappear into the world.

But Kevin DeSouza predicts that in the not-too-distant future, AVs will be extremely commonplace and will completely disrupt current business models.

DeSouza is with the Center for Technology Innovation, and a professor in the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. He says there are two key factors for widespread adoption⁵ of autonomous vehicles. The first is price, and the second is safety.

As far as price goes, DeSouza says we can expect the typical trend for new technology. Autonomous vehicles will be prohibitively expensive at first, before gradually coming down to a price range more accessible to consumers at large.

No surprises there, that's how the marketplace works. He says the issue that might require more convincing is safety. But so far, the numbers look good.

“If you look at what Google and a few of the other players in the AV market have identified, they have logged countless⁶ hours of accident-free travel,” DeSouza says.

In the cases in which an autonomous vehicle has been involved in an accident, he tells us that the fault has fallen on the human driver operating the other vehicle and trying to break a traffic law.

According to DeSouza, autonomous vehicles are much safer than human drivers because they are “engineered to be highly risk averse⁷, so they actually follow all of the programmed rules that we train drivers on when we have them go for a defensive⁸ driving class.”

He says autonomous vehicles will reduce accidents, drunk driving, seating and traffic fines, and a lot of other negative things we associate with driving.

DeSouza envisions a society in which instead of using our cars to get from point A to point B and then leaving them idle for everything in between, we will utilize⁹ our vehicles' automated nature to put them to work.

Instead of each individual owning their own AV, he says we will be able to share and rent these vehicles in real time.

“It is going to be more like ride sharing, more community-oriented approaches to how AVs get managed,” he says. As a direct result, he predicts a huge reduction in traffic congestion¹⁰.

DeSouza tells us more about what the future of autonomous cars will look like in our conversation above.

-- Ryan Grimes, Stateside

1 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。

2 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。

3 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

4 hummingbird   

n.蜂鸟

参考例句：

• The hummingbird perches on a twig of the hawthorn.小蜂鸟栖在山楂树枝上。
• The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backward.蜂鸟是唯一能倒退向后飞的鸟。

5 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

6 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 averse   

adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的

参考例句：

• I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟，但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。
• We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。

8 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

9 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

10 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。