Last year Japanese company ZMP Inc delivered a 1/10 scale robot vehicle, the RoboCar, for use in researching autonomous movement. The car was equipped with features like stereo cameras with image recognition, WiFi communication, and a gyro sensor to name just a few. Now ZMP is stepping it up a notch pushing out the RoboCar G, which unlike its little brother you can actually ride.
Developed by researchers at Gunma University, the RoboCar G doesn't look like much more than a glorified golf cart at first glance. But upon closer inspection this one-seat electric vehicle is like its predecessor packed full of features. Built to order, the RoboCar G can be fitted with a number of options:
- stereo camera
- GPS
- inertial measurement unit
- laser range finder
- milliwave radar
- sonar sensor
The thought of one day having features like this in a vehicle is certainly mouth-watering, and the RoboCar G brings us one step closer to making that a reality. It would be nice to kick your feet up, close your eyes, and let the auto-pilot take over every once in a while. Having said that, lets hope that the cars of the future include the option of old-fashioned driving for those of us who enjoy it.
You can see the RoboCar G in the video below, although the clip is not particularly long nor action-packed.
