The Autonomy in the context of a car implies that the decisions taken by the embedded software in the car’s control system will be sufficiently intelligent to recognise events on the road, which we, as drivers, may deal with out of experience, intuition or anticipation.   The sensors on board the vehicle will have to sense pedestrians, bends, cars and other vehicles, cyclists, horses, road blocks and deviation signs as well as healthy and failed traffic lights and in adverse weather conditions.  Accurate weather forecasting may also be a requirement before the vehicle will move.  The sensors and controlling computer and actuators will all require power to operate.  The all-electric car will have this additional demand placed on the batteries.  Furthermore, the insurance industry, in collaboration with the manufacturers and service garages, will have to rethink its policies, for the driver will have no control over the actions of the car, which precede an accident.

The designers of autonomous cars still have a lot of work to do.  In her lecture Philippa will touch on many of these considerations.  This is an open meeting and guests are welcome, so it is hoped that members attending the lecture will also bring younger people from their schools, work or family members.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Philippa Oldham, Head of Transport and Manufacturing, Institution of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE), is a Chartered Engineer with a background working within the defence, aerospace and automotive sectors.  Philippa joined the IMechE in May 2011, and acts as a voice for the Institution on behalf of their 114,000 international members.  Her work helps raise the profile of engineers developing safe and efficient transport systems with less congestion and emissions, whilst creating wealth and employment. Publishing policy statements and reports on topics including Autonomous and Driverless Cars, Life Cycle Analysis, Manufacturing a successful economy, Intelligent Transport, Integrated Transport and Energy options for our transport modes.