Largest Ever Convoy Of 55 Self Driving Cars Creates World Record By Driving Without Any Human Input

While level 5 autonomy in vehicles has not yet been achieved, today¡¯s autonomous vehicles can pretty much drive by themselves under controlled situations. They can start, stop, accelerate, brake, turn and as per recent events, can now even create world records.

You read that right. Self-driving vehicles have created a Guinness World Records. We say 'vehicles' because the record was a collaborative effort of 55 autonomous cars. Collectively, the cars completed the largest parade of autonomous cars recently.

To achieve this, the self-driven vehicles travelled at a constant speed of 30 kmph and covered a total distance of 3.2 kms on a test track in Dianjiang, Chongqing, China in 9 minutes and 7 seconds. Each of the 55 cars maintained a distance of less than two car lengths from each other. The vehicles in focus here were 55 self driving cars built by Changan Automobile.

Guinness World Records

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Changan Automobile claims that the drivers who participated in the attempt had ¡°no contact with the autopilot system¡±, hinting at the ease of adjustment required for the autonomous technology. A company official asserted that the drivers will also be ready to let go of the controls completely in a short time with further advancement in the technology.

The cars were slightly modified for the record attempt. These changes included improvements in the cars¡¯ sensors, with an enhanced ability to identify lane boundaries as well as the position of the car in front. The autonomous cars also drove at an equal distance from each other, made possible by lowering the car¡¯s object and event detection to 1% from the average 5%. The reduced detection and response allowed the cars to drive with little distance between them.

The lower detection capability was not an issue during the attempt as the record was carried out in a controlled environment, having fewer variables than the real-life road conditions.

Guinness World Records

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The part to focus upon, was to identify some of the risk factors in advance, like the walking of field personnel or the placement of photographic equipment.

Once this was in place, the rest of the deal was just a cakewalk for the autonomous cars. To be honest, with the level of autonomous technology that has been achieved by the auto makers and tech firms alike, it is not hard to see that such a record can be replicated by others soon enough. In fact, this is the essence of autonomous technology, vehicles moving at a constant pace while sticking to their lane. So don¡¯t be too surprised if you get to see such an event around you once self-driving vehicles become commonplace.