(in Sejong City, South Korea, the driverless express car of Korea post is slowly driving on the road in Sejong campus of Korea University (information photo).) Autonomous vehicle technology is a complex combination of algorithms, sensors, actuators, automotive components, running software and processors, each of which plays a key role and is indispensable. Autonomous vehicle can accurately map the surrounding environment, and monitor the location and real-time situation of nearby vehicles, traffic lights, pedestrians and lane markings. The current research shows that although each subsystem still needs to be significantly improved in order to achieve a fully functional and safe autonomous vehicle, once these milestone improvements are achieved, people will not only change the operation mode of the vehicle, but also find that its impact is far beyond the field of autonomous vehicle. In a recent report, the US' Forbes biweekly website looked forward to four ways in which autonomous vehicle are expected to change the world in the future. Reduce traffic accidents according to the data provided by the World Health Organization, about 1.3 million people die in traffic accidents worldwide every year, which may reach 2.2 million in 2030. Most of these accidents are caused by human misjudgment. In addition, about 32 people in the United States die in crashes caused by drunk driving every day, which means that almost every 45 minutes, one person is killed. Nowadays, road traffic injury has become the eighth leading cause of death in the world. Autonomous vehicle can avoid traffic accidents caused by driver errors and reduce the occurrence of drunk driving, malicious driving and other behaviors. The sensors and cameras on the body of autonomous vehicle can help the car perceive the conditions ahead, bad weather conditions and the possibility of other cars driving in a specific direction. Waymo, a autonomous vehicle subsidiary of Google's parent company "alphabet", is equipped with supplementary sensors in its fifth generation autonomous vehicle, including lidar, 360 degree camera, etc. these technical devices help the vehicle adjust its driving conditions according to weather conditions, time and other similar factors. If autonomous vehicle become the main mode of transportation, the death toll of traffic accidents will be reduced by 94%. Studies by foreign institutions show that if 90% of the cars on American roads are converted to autonomous vehicle, the death toll will drop from 33000 to 11300 per year. Car ownership has declined. Owning a car costs a lot every year, but most cars spend most of the time quietly in the parking lot. In the future, most autonomous vehicle may operate as shared vehicles, mainly owned by shared vehicle companies. Therefore, the number of car owners will be reduced, which will help reduce traffic problems and save unnecessary parking spaces. McKinsey & company estimates that autonomous vehicle will save about 61billion square feet of parking space in the United States. Autonomous vehicle can also save users the cost of buying a car. According to the National Association of automobile dealers, the average price Americans pay for a new car is about $30000. IHS, an American automotive professional research company, estimates that by 2035, automatic driving technology can reach a level that does not require manual control at all, and its price will further drop to $3000. According to the data provided by the Transportation Research Institute of the University of Michigan, once autonomous vehicle are adopted, the number of car ownership in the United States will drop by up to 43%. Sebastian trong, a computer expert at Stanford University in the United States, also pointed out that once autonomous vehicle become mainstream, only 30% of cars are needed on the road. In addition to improving operational efficiency, autonomous vehicle will also improve fuel efficiency and vehicle utilization efficiency due to their optimization in acceleration, braking and transmission. It is estimated that the use cost of urban vehicles will be reduced by 40% by 2050. Logistics is accelerated and automated. Autonomous vehicle can also be used to transport food and parcels in the future. Autonomous vehicle will enable enterprises to quickly and smoothly meet customer needs. Autonomous vehicle and semi-automatic trucks can be equipped with a variety of special sensors and cameras to identify objects and addresses. For example, Uber has successfully entered the food delivery industry through ubereats; Cruise automation, a subsidiary of general motors, also began to cooperate with doordash to explore the realization of self driving food delivery. In addition, the U.S. Army is developing autonomous tanks and autonomous vehicles that can transport food, fuel and supplies in conflict areas, and the U.S. Navy is also developing autonomous vehicles that can extinguish fires on ships. To improve the livability of cities, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured in 2022 was 421 parts per million, 50% higher than the pre industrial level. In the United States, the greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars account for about 16.4% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. With the gradual introduction of autonomous vehicle, the number of vehicles on the road has been significantly reduced, which helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so people can breathe more fresh air. According to McKinsey & company, autonomous vehicle help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 300 million tons per year, which is equivalent to half of the carbon dioxide emissions of the aviation industry. KPMG's report shows that autonomous vehicle can increase the capacity of highways to accommodate cars by five times. A study at the University of Texas at Austin shows that each autonomous vehicle can replace about 11 conventional cars, and the operating mileage can be increased by more than 10%. This means that car Hailing or taxi Hailing based on vehicle sharing will significantly reduce traffic congestion and environmental degradation, and greatly improve the livability of the city. The wave of self driving has rushed towards us! Boston Consulting predicts that by 2035, fully autonomous vehicle will account for nearly a quarter of the total sales of new vehicles worldwide, and there will be more autonomous vehicle applied to specific scenarios. Is it worth looking forward to the great changes that autonomous driving will bring to people's lives? (Xinhua News Agency)