
The car learns from horses
Mobility thought backwards
According to forecasts, the car of tomorrow includes not only the use of new, lighter materials or other forms of drive, but also the continued increase in vehicle intelligence. “Electric and automated: The long-term goal is the autonomous car, whose driver can dedicate himself to completely different things during the journey than controlling the vehicle,” writes the Association of German Engineers VDI. By the way, the same word can also be found in the Disney documentary from 1958. Is it because of technology that this vision is only now promising to become reality?
At least there are now multi-function cameras and radar sensors that record the car's surroundings. Coupled with navigation systems and in constant connection with the vehicles in front and behind, the autonomous steering and moving car is now not only conceivable, but can also be implemented.
The electronics research manager at Volkswagen AG, Dr. Ralf Bergholz, coined the term “horse intelligence” for this purpose years ago. It is about the intelligence that was lost during the transition from carriage to motor carriage: “Even though the coachman didn't pay attention in the past, the horse dutifully trotted along the road, avoided the ditch, avoided obstacles and never hit the carriage in front of him,” says Dr. Bergholz. (Source: Zukunftsinstitut GmbH, Frankfurt am Main)