There are many areas of tech that are currently being heavily researched and developed, including 3D printing and autonomous driving technology.
Researchers at the University of Michigan, however, are combining those two technologies, having developed a 3D-printed self-driving car dubbed the "SmartCart."
"Think Uber, but with low-speed, autonomous cars," said associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science Edwin Olson, who is the lead of the team behind the car. "The goal of SmartCarts is for us to begin understanding the challenges of a transportation-on-demand system built around autonomous cars."
Of course, the entire car isn't 3D-printed, with the cart using the same powertrain as would be found in a golf cart. Everything else, however, is 3D-printed, with parts being printed by Arizona-based company Local Motors.
The reason that the team decided on 3D printing is because it's far quicker than traditional manufacturing methods, making it great for prototyping an experimental technology like autonomous cars. For example, if the team needs to install a different type of sensor, they can easily print out a different casing that will be more accommodating for that sensor.
Local Motors itself is the company behind the world's first 3D-printed car, which was unveiled last year. Not only that, but it hopes to begin sales of 3D-printed cars that are more like golf carts in 2016. Within the next decade, it hopes to open up 100 "microfactories" around the world, where parts can be printed for local communities and companies.
Clearly, this vehicle isn't designed to hit the roads, but rather could be used in things like airports or university campuses. A prototype is currently being tested at the University of Michigan, with the team concentrating on developing autonomy and a mobile interface for the cars and a potential transport system for a campus environment.
"On this project, we're deliberately 'cheating' on the autonomy as much as we can — not because we can't build autonomous cars, but because we need a working test bed now so that we can begin to look at all of the other challenges of an on-demand system," continued Olson.
The vehicle will be tested at Mcity, an autonomous vehicle test site created by the Mobility Transformation Center at the University of Michigan. Through this testing, the team will develop new methods to simplify challenges associated with autonomous technology, adding things like campus landmarks to help cars navigate and even painting lines for cars to follow. The team will get a second car later this year, which will be used in a pilot at Mcity.
Via: Gizmodo
