放開(kāi)你的方向盤 奧迪自動(dòng)駕駛汽車初體驗(yàn)

What’s it like to drive a car that drives itself? To givea computer full control of your destiny, on thehighway, at 70 miles an hour?

開(kāi)著一輛自動(dòng)駕駛汽車是什么感覺(jué)?是不是將你的小命交給電腦，讓它指引汽車在高速公路上以每小時(shí)70英里的速度行駛?

It will happen to you, maybe not in five years, butdefinitely within 15. You’ll be on the highway and hita button and the car will take over, navigatingthrough slow traffic and allowing you to tap away atyour cell phone or even take a short nap.

你遲早會(huì)體會(huì)到這種感覺(jué)，也許5年內(nèi)還不行，但15年內(nèi)絕對(duì)可以。上了高速，你只要按下一個(gè)按鈕，汽車就會(huì)開(kāi)啟自動(dòng)駕駛模式，你可以玩一會(huì)兒手機(jī)，甚至睡上一覺(jué)。

 

 

Well, I’ve experienced it already, in the very first week of 2015, on a 560-mile road trip fromSilicon Valley to Las Vegas. On behalf of Fortune, I was one of five journalists to experience anautonomous car at this advanced level.

2015年的第一個(gè)星期，在一段從硅谷前往拉斯維加斯，長(zhǎng)達(dá)560英里的旅程中，我體驗(yàn)了一番這種感覺(jué)。作為代表《財(cái)富》的記者，我榮幸地成為率先體驗(yàn)一款技術(shù)先進(jìn)的自動(dòng)駕駛汽車的五名記者之一。

The car was an Audi A7 that looked exactly like any other, if you discounted the special paintjob and the words “Audi Piloted Driving” on the sides. The oddest part was just how quickly Igot used to the car making decisions for me at highway speeds.

除去特殊的涂裝和車身上的“奧迪自動(dòng)駕駛”字樣，這輛奧迪A7看起來(lái)與同型號(hào)的其它車輛沒(méi)有任何區(qū)別。最奇妙的是，我很快就習(xí)慣了它在高速公速上替我做決定。

All the major automakers are in a race to develop the first fully autonomous car, and if youlisten to some of the companies it sounds as if a robotic chauffeur will be taking over grocery-getting duties any day now. Don’t believe them. Neither the technology nor the laws governingit are anywhere near that point. Your 10-year-old will still need his or her driving license in sixyears unless you plan to pay for Uber rides to the mall well into their 20s.

目前，市面上所有主流汽車廠商都在爭(zhēng)先恐后地開(kāi)發(fā)首款完全自動(dòng)駕駛的汽車。在有些廠家的宣傳詞里，好像不久之后“汽車人”就能自動(dòng)替你去買菜了。別相信他們。不論是在技術(shù)層面還是法律層面，我們離那個(gè)目標(biāo)都非常遙遠(yuǎn)。你10歲的孩子六年后還是得考駕照，除非你打算讓他們20多歲時(shí)還要通過(guò)Uber來(lái)叫車載他們?nèi)ド虉?chǎng)。

Nonetheless, Volkswagen Group-owned Audi was out to prove that it was ahead of the curve,and invited me to test drive a prototype sedan capable of “level three” autonomoustechnology (see accompanying story for definitions of those levels). The trip began from a hotelin Menlo Park, and I had visions of inputting “Las Vegas” into the navigation system, hittingthe “go” button and kicking back with 1984 on my Kindle as the car whisked me away.

不過(guò)，德國(guó)大眾集團(tuán)旗下的奧迪公司想要證明他們已經(jīng)在這個(gè)領(lǐng)域領(lǐng)先了一步，于是邀請(qǐng)我去試駕一款據(jù)說(shuō)具備了“第三級(jí)”自動(dòng)駕駛技術(shù)的轎車(這些等級(jí)的定義見(jiàn)本文附注)。這趟旅行的起點(diǎn)是門洛帕克市的一家酒店。在我的想象中，我以為只需要在導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)里輸入“拉斯維加斯”，按一個(gè)“走你”的按鈕，車子就會(huì)載著我飛奔，然后我就可以用Kindle電子書悠閑地看《1984》了。

Not so much. This special prototype can only pilot itself in very specific situations. The basiccriteria: 1) It drives itself only on well-marked freeways during the day and in favorableweather conditions; 2) A driver has to be in the seat at all times and ready to take back controlimmediately in an emergency situation (so no napping); 3) The driver gives up control whilealready on the freeway and takes it back before it’s time to exit.

事實(shí)上并沒(méi)有這么簡(jiǎn)單。這臺(tái)原型車只能在非常特定的情形下才能實(shí)現(xiàn)自動(dòng)駕駛。基本條件是：1、它只能在標(biāo)志明顯的高速公路上才能實(shí)現(xiàn)自動(dòng)駕駛，而且必須是白天，天氣狀況必須良好;2、駕駛員必須始終坐在駕駛座上，隨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備在緊急條件下立即轉(zhuǎn)到手動(dòng)駕駛模式(所以打盹是不可能了);3、只有上了高速，司機(jī)才能開(kāi)啟自動(dòng)駕駛，在車子下高速之前，司機(jī)就要重新接管汽車。

Audi engineers says they have done more than 50,000 miles of testing on public roads inAmerica using this self-driving technology. But on this trip they weren’t leaving much to chance.They had run the long, southeastern route through Bakersfield at least six times previously.There were two German engineers in the car at all times. The one in the back had a laptop andwas constantly screening data. The fellow in the right-hand seat paid keen attention to theroad ahead. Disconcertingly, he also had his own gas and brake pedals.

奧迪的工程師表示，他們已經(jīng)利用自動(dòng)駕駛技術(shù)，在美國(guó)的公共道路上行駛了50,000多英里。但在本次旅途中，他們也不敢怠慢，而且已經(jīng)沿這條向東南方經(jīng)由巴克斯菲爾德的公路行駛了六次。這次車?yán)镆廊皇冀K坐著兩名德國(guó)工程師。坐在后面的這位架著一臺(tái)筆記本電腦，不停地檢查各種數(shù)據(jù)。坐在副駕駛的那位始終謹(jǐn)慎地觀察前方道路。比較尷尬的是，他的腳底下也有一套油門和剎車踏板。

The trunk of the car was filled with components from desktop computers, with a hydra of cordsinterconnecting them to the car. Also a bit disconcerting. But the interior looked almost entirelynormal.

車子的后備箱里裝滿了臺(tái)式電腦的部件，一大團(tuán)數(shù)據(jù)線把它們與汽車聯(lián)接在一起。這一幕看著也有點(diǎn)尷尬，但內(nèi)飾基本上完全正常。

It’s at this point that I should mention that I’m an A-type driver. Years of training on theracetrack and practicing emergency maneuvers have not helped matters. You may think you’re agreat driver. I would likely disagree. I love to be in the driver’s seat—and if I’m not, I’d justprefer to be outside the car. So yes, you might say I’ve got control issues.

我應(yīng)該強(qiáng)調(diào)一下，我是A型血。多年的賽道訓(xùn)練和緊急操作練習(xí)也沒(méi)有治好我的強(qiáng)迫癥。你可能認(rèn)為你是個(gè)很好的司機(jī)，但我很可能不這么認(rèn)為。我喜歡坐在駕駛座上——如果開(kāi)車的不是我，我寧可不坐這輛車。所以你可能會(huì)認(rèn)為我的控制欲過(guò)強(qiáng)。

And while I like technology, I don’t really trust it. Computers crash all the time. They can behacked and compromised and my Apple computer too often suffers that spinning ball of death.Was I really ready to turn over my life to a robotic overlord? Have we learned nothing from theTerminator movies?

另外，雖然我喜歡高科技，但我并不真心信任它。電腦還經(jīng)常崩潰呢，或是被黑、中毒什么的，我自己的蘋果電腦也經(jīng)常死機(jī)。我真的準(zhǔn)備好把寶貴的生命托付給機(jī)器人了嗎?難道看了《終結(jié)者》系列電影后，我們什么教訓(xùn)都沒(méi)學(xué)到嗎?

So I was happy enough to be in control as we motored through a small California town in theprototype Audi, making our way toward Interstate 5. The prototype was in most regards stilla stock A7, a sexy, swoop-backed sedan that I really love. It has lots of pep and a greatsuspension.

所以當(dāng)我們沿5號(hào)公路來(lái)到加州一個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)，換我坐到駕駛座上時(shí)，我還是非常高興的。這輛原型車骨子里還是一臺(tái)量產(chǎn)的奧迪A7，它是一款令人愛(ài)不釋手、非常性感的溜背轎跑，動(dòng)力充沛，懸掛也很出色。

Then we got on the freeway and a message appeared on my digital dash, informing me that“piloted” driving mode was available. Traffic was heavy and too closely spaced together. Thistruly would be a test of the technology.

然后我們又上了高速，這時(shí)數(shù)碼儀表盤上顯示出一條消息，提示稱“自動(dòng)”駕駛模式已經(jīng)可以使用了。不過(guò)這時(shí)路上車流很大，車距很窄，這對(duì)該技術(shù)真是一項(xiàng)挑戰(zhàn)。

I glanced over at the engineer and he gave me a confident nod. The lower stalks of thesteering wheel have two extra buttons. You press and hold both simultaneously to engagethe autonomous feature. I did so: an alert sounded and the steering wheel automaticallyretracted several inches, literally moving out of my hands.

我瞄了工程師一眼，他對(duì)我信心十足地點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。方向盤下面有兩個(gè)額外的按鈕。同時(shí)長(zhǎng)按這兩個(gè)按鈕即可啟動(dòng)自動(dòng)駕駛功能。我這樣做了以后，車內(nèi)響起了一聲提醒音，然后方向盤收縮了幾英寸，擺脫了我的掌控。

The A7 prototype uses an array of stock sensors, including radar and a front-facing camera,to navigate through traffic. It stays in the right-hand lane until it comes on slower-movingtraffic, and then will engage its turn signal, pull into the left lane, and pass.

這臺(tái)A7原型車使用了一系列傳感器，包括雷達(dá)和正對(duì)前方的攝像頭，用來(lái)感應(yīng)車流狀況。車子一直在右道行駛，如果遇見(jiàn)前車行駛太慢，它就會(huì)打轉(zhuǎn)向燈，然后拐上左道超車。

Using the side stalk, I set the speed at 70 mph. The steering wheel was moving on its own, aghost in the machine. We were approaching a slow-moving minivan quickly and I tensed, myfoot hovering over the brake pedal. The car smoothly engaged the brakes, waited for a caron the left to pass, turned on the signal, passed the van and pulled back to the right.Seamless.

通過(guò)方向盤側(cè)邊的撥桿，我把速度設(shè)定為每小時(shí)70英里(約每小時(shí)112公里)。方向盤自動(dòng)擺動(dòng)，就像有個(gè)幽靈在開(kāi)車一樣。車子很快接近了一臺(tái)開(kāi)得很慢的面包車，我精神緊張起來(lái)，把腳放在剎車踏板上準(zhǔn)備隨時(shí)制動(dòng)。但車子自動(dòng)平順地放慢了車速，等到左邊的一輛車先超過(guò)去，才打了轉(zhuǎn)向燈，超過(guò)了這輛面包車，然后又回到右側(cè)車道，簡(jiǎn)直天衣無(wú)縫。

I stared straight ahead, hands in lap. Then I relaxed a bit. Then I got bored. I twisted in theseat and began chatting with the engineers. Then I started messing with traffic around me,planting both hands on the side window as cars passed. Look, sir! No hands. I got somestrange looks. I even tried to attract the attention of a state trooper pulled to the side of theroad. My engineer/minder wasn’t so amused.

我的眼睛直視前方，雙手放在了膝蓋上。然后，我放松了一會(huì)兒，很快就覺(jué)得無(wú)聊。我把座椅調(diào)整了個(gè)角度，然后開(kāi)始和工程師們聊天。我開(kāi)始望著周圍的車流，有車子經(jīng)過(guò)時(shí)，我就把兩只手都伸到車窗外頭。“看我大撒把!”人們對(duì)我投來(lái)奇怪的眼神。我甚至還試圖吸引停在路邊的交警的注意力。當(dāng)然，那位工程師并不覺(jué)得我這樣做有多么好玩。

Here’s what I liked: It was very easy to take back control. Simply grab the steering wheel andapply light pressure, and the system happily gives all controls back to you. You can also applythe brakes or gas and do the same thing. And the car still drove and handled like an Audi. Itreally wasn’t foreign at all: Easy to understand even easier to use.

我最喜歡的一點(diǎn)是：你很容易就能收回對(duì)車子的控制權(quán)。只需輕輕一拉方向盤，施加一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)力量，系統(tǒng)就會(huì)很高興地把它的所有控制權(quán)交還給你。踩剎車或油門也能達(dá)到同樣的效果。車子的操縱感仍然像一輛經(jīng)典的奧迪。它完全沒(méi)有陌生的感覺(jué)，了解它很容易，用起來(lái)甚至更容易。

What I didn’t like: The passiveness. It’s very hard to pay attention after a while. Being sort-of,kind-of in control is difficult. Either you’re all-in driving, or you’re not. Engineers say that whenthe technology eventually comes to market, the car should be able to perform some evasivemaneuvers. But right now, if a car careens toward you the car can only slow down to avoid anaccident. It’s up to you to perform more elaborate evasive action.

我不喜歡的一點(diǎn)是它的被動(dòng)性。車子走了一陣子之后，你就很難集中注意力了，很難獲得所謂的“控制感”。要么是用手動(dòng)模式開(kāi)車，要么不是。工程師們表示，等到這項(xiàng)技術(shù)最終投放市場(chǎng)，它屆時(shí)應(yīng)該可以進(jìn)行機(jī)動(dòng)規(guī)避。不過(guò)目前，如果一輛車子向你行駛的方向側(cè)翻過(guò)來(lái)，車子只能自動(dòng)減速以避免事故。要想進(jìn)行更復(fù)雜的機(jī)動(dòng)動(dòng)作，就得靠你自己去手動(dòng)操作。

As for accidents, we saw a lot of them that day on I-5. Fender benders mostly, but at least oneserious incident the other direction. Audi says it is pursuing this technology because it saveslives, as the majority of accidents are the result of distracted driving.

說(shuō)到事故，那天我們?cè)?號(hào)公路上見(jiàn)到了很多交通事故，大部分是小刮蹭，但至少在反向車道上還是發(fā)生了一起嚴(yán)重事故。奧迪公司表示它正在積極推進(jìn)這項(xiàng)技術(shù)，因?yàn)樗梢酝炀群芏嗳说纳?，因?yàn)榇蠖鄶?shù)交通事故都是因?yàn)殚_(kāi)車分心而導(dǎo)致的。

Meanwhile, our A7 stayed out of trouble and accident free, moving steadily to our destination,the Las Vegas Strip, which we would reach just in time for the annual Consumer ElectronicsShow.

我們的A7一路平安無(wú)事，也沒(méi)有遇到事故，穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地駛向我們的目的地拉斯維加斯，剛好能趕上一年一度的CES消費(fèi)電子展。

By the end of the trip, I was a believer. The technology is for real. Do I love it? Well, I certainlysee the attraction, especially on a long boring route. And I do believe that it will eventuallysave lives.

等到這趟旅程結(jié)束時(shí)，我自己也成了自動(dòng)駕駛技術(shù)的擁躉。這項(xiàng)技術(shù)是真真切切的。要說(shuō)我喜歡它嗎?我當(dāng)然看到了它的優(yōu)點(diǎn)，尤其是在行駛一段漫長(zhǎng)而無(wú)聊的道路時(shí)。而且我也真心相信，最終它會(huì)拯救許多人的生命。

But I write about cars for a living. Fully autonomous driving would consign me to the ranks ofscriveners, typesetters and harpoon salesmen. I guess at that point, I’ll be reviewing thefengshui of the interior.

不過(guò)，我是靠寫汽車新聞謀生的。如果自動(dòng)駕駛汽車技術(shù)完全成熟了，我只能去做代書人、打字員或是賣漁具之類的工作。估計(jì)到那時(shí)候，我也就只能評(píng)測(cè)一下汽車內(nèi)飾的風(fēng)水了。

For now, I’ll just say that the A7 self-driving car and I are frenemies.

現(xiàn)在，我只能說(shuō)A7自動(dòng)駕駛汽車與我是“亦敵亦友”的關(guān)系。

Sidebar: stages of self-driving cars

附注：自動(dòng)駕駛汽車的發(fā)展階段

Hoping for a car that will pick you up at your doorstep, whisk you to work, and then disappeararound the block until it returns for you at 5 pm? For many engineers, such a fully automatedand self-guiding car is the ultimate goal, but it will be many years until we actually see one.

你是否暢想過(guò)，你的汽車能像變形金剛一樣，每天自動(dòng)開(kāi)到門口接你，載著你上班，然后自己消失了，直到下午5點(diǎn)鐘又來(lái)公司接你?對(duì)于很多工程師來(lái)說(shuō)，這種完全的自動(dòng)駕駛和自動(dòng)導(dǎo)航汽車仍是一個(gè)終極目標(biāo)，我們可能還得等很多年才能見(jiàn)到它。

Experts have laid out five levels of automation, from the lowest (one) to that full robotic taxi(five).

專家們給自動(dòng)駕駛劃分了五個(gè)等級(jí)，從最低級(jí)(一級(jí))到全自動(dòng)機(jī)器人出租車(第五級(jí))。

The first level is found on many luxury cars today. It’s referred to as a driver’s assistanceprogram and include automatic cruise control, in which the car will slow or even stop when itsenses slower traffic ahead. A lane-assistance system, which helps keep a car from strayingbeyond lane markings, is also considered level one.

當(dāng)前的很多豪華車型已經(jīng)具備了第一級(jí)功能。它是指駕駛員的輔助程序，包括自動(dòng)巡航控制，也就是當(dāng)汽車感覺(jué)到前方車速較慢時(shí)會(huì)自動(dòng)減速甚至停車。車道輔助系統(tǒng)可以避免車子在行駛時(shí)越線，它也被視為第一級(jí)技術(shù)。

Level two is a car that can handle several tasks independently of the driver, including parkingitself, with the driver outside the car controlling some aspects with a key fob.

第二級(jí)是指汽車可以脫離駕駛員，來(lái)處理幾項(xiàng)任務(wù)，包括自動(dòng)停車入位，不過(guò)通常是駕駛員在車外通過(guò)某種遙控器遙控的。

Level three is where things get more interesting. The Audi prototype that we tested was levelthree, and it can negotiate traffic on a pre-ordained route independent of the driver. However,it depends on a driver to be behind the wheel at all times, and to take over control at thebeginning and end of the route. It also demands that the driver take back control in anyemergency circumstance.

第三級(jí)更有趣些。我們?cè)囻{的這輛奧迪原型車就是第三級(jí)技術(shù)，它可以獨(dú)立于駕駛員，自動(dòng)在一條預(yù)先設(shè)定好的道路上行車。但它需要駕駛員全程坐在方向盤后面，并且要在自動(dòng)駕駛模式開(kāi)始前和結(jié)束后手動(dòng)駕車。在緊急狀況下也需要駕駛員接管車輛。

High automation is level four. This car will be able to find a safe area to pull off the road if thedriver doesn’t respond to a call of action to take back over. It could also potentially drop youoff outside of your building and then pull itself automatically into a pre-ordained spot in thepublic garage.

第四級(jí)是高度自動(dòng)化。如果駕駛員沒(méi)有響應(yīng)汽車交回控制權(quán)的要求，它甚至可以自己找到一個(gè)安全的區(qū)域停在路邊。它也可能會(huì)自動(dòng)開(kāi)到你的樓前接你，然后自動(dòng)把自己停在公共停車場(chǎng)的一個(gè)預(yù)定車位上。

Five is the robotic taxi that would need no driver behind the wheel whatsoever. Which bringsus to this question: When are we going go get those flying cars, anyhow?

第五級(jí)是根本不需要駕駛員坐在方向盤后頭的“機(jī)器人出租車”。這也讓我們不禁想問(wèn)：那種會(huì)飛的汽車什么時(shí)候才能出現(xiàn)呢?(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))