Vehicle Automation involves the use of mechatronics and in particular, artificial intelligence to assist in the control of the vehicle, thereby relieving responsibilities from the driver or making a responsibility more manageable. These features and the vehicles employing them may be labeled as intelligent or smart. Vehicles using automation for difficult tasks, especially navigation, may be referred to as semi-autonomous. A vehicle that relies completely on automation is by definition known as robotic or autonomous. As automation technology has progressed, especially in the decades after the invention of the integrated circuit, more and more functions have been added to automobiles, relieving the driver of much of the mundane moment-to-moment decision making that may be regarded as having made driving careful.
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The fictional car KITT in the television series Knight Rider is the archetypal smart car. A number of real-life vehicles have been designed, built and sold commercially that incorporate technology.
The European Commission has established a smart car development program called the Intelligent Car Flagship Initiative.[1] The goals of that program include:
There are plenty of further uses for automation in relation to cars. These include:
Aircraft has received much attention for automation, especially for navigation. A system capable of autonomously navigating a vehicle (especially aircraft) is known as autopilot.
Ground vehicles and mobile robots have been the traditional testing ground for much autonomous technology. Commercial systems focus on military applications such as bomb disposal robots. See Multi Autonomous Ground-robotic International Challenge.
Underwater vehicles have been a focus for automation for tasks such as pipeline inspection and underwater mapping. See Autonomous underwater vehicle.