Faster computers, better sensors – the autonomous car will probably arrive sooner than expected, if the legal framework is right. Now bosch and daimler have joined forces to form the self-driving alliance.
carmaker daimler and its supplier bosch want to bring self-driving cars into series production faster than before with a joint development project. the goal is to bring fully autonomous cars for urban traffic to market by the beginning of the next decade, the two companies said on tuesday.
Until now, the world’s largest supplier and the world’s largest premium carmaker, both of which have been working on the technology for some time, had assumed that cars without a driver at the wheel would not be available until around 2030. But now, technical advances in sensors and the prospect of lucrative business opportunities have made it possible to move forward more quickly, as a Daimler spokesman explained.
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New business models sought
To recoup the high cost of autonomous driving technology, automakers are looking for business opportunities through mobility services called. daimler board member for development ola kallenius recently cited robotic cabs as an example. The first prototypes will be available by 2020, and business models will be realized by 2025. "If the (costs) go down, it could go into series production", added kallenius.
Another example is the improvement of station-independent car sharing, where daimler is already the market leader with car2go. Passengers would be able to call for the car when they want it, instead of having to walk around the neighborhood to find the nearest available car.
Who wins the race?
Car manufacturers are currently racing to develop the technology of computer-controlled driving. BMW had already announced last year that it would launch an autonomous series model by 2021. As elmar frickenstein, head of development for fully automated driving at BMW, recently explained, models are planned that will allow the driver to let go of the wheel temporarily – in the technical jargon "level 3"-autonomy called. In the fourth stage, the driver can sit back and no longer has to intervene; robot cabs without a driver are "level 5"-vehicles.
Frickenstein said on the sidelines of a bosch conference that BMW will also offer level four and five autonomous vehicles in 2021. Tesla says it can offer this technology today, subject to legal approval. The carmakers’ timetables also depend on a new legal framework with liability rules. So far, no new international regulations or draft laws are in the pipeline.