Rapid Automotive Innovation

The Journey Towards Self Driving Cars

The automotive sector is currently seeing one of its
greatest innovative changes since its inception as the
major manufacturers capitalise on the technological
advancement in driver aids and autonomous systems.
How is this innovation being harnessed to have a
positive impact on the safety of our road users?
A Tale of Two Theories: Driver assistance vs Autonomy
Initially there were two schools of thought on how the
experience of driving would change given the rapid
integration of technology. Much of the automotive
industry looked to driver aids, or tools that augment
the driving experience to help make driving safer.
During the 1990s Formula 1 proved an incredible
development environment for new technology and
brought us advancements including ABS and Traction
Control. Whilst this development progressed, some
industry experts felt the future of transportation was
autonomous cars, thereby removing the weakest link
the human.
Over the past few years we have seen a convergence
of these schools of thought, as manufacturers begin
to integrate systems, thereby moving from disparate
independent driver aids, to integrated computer
systems and closer to autonomous transportation.
In order to accelerate the development of these
systems, fundamental changes have been made to
how cars operate, and whilst not always popular
amongst driving purists, this has enabled computer
focussed automotive innovation to accelerate.
Firstly, the automatic gearbox has become the
primary transmission choice. If a computer is going to
control several aspects of the car, including speed, it
must be able to change gear as the engine revolutions
demand. This is not possible with a manual gearbox,
hence many of the major automotive companies have
shifted to an automatic first philosophy, with some
declaring particular models will no longer be supplied
with a manual gearbox.

Fly-by-wire throttle has replaced regular mechanical

and fluid based systems, and electric power assisted
steering has replaced hydraulic power steering.
With these changes, manufacturers have been able to
use computers to control throttle, braking, steering,
and gears, and made incredible leaps forward in
automotive innovation and driving aids.
Computer Driving Aids (Augmented Systems)
The most common driver aids developed by major
manufacturers so far have included:
Automatic Emergency Braking - appearing on more
vehicles all the time, and designed to stop the all too
common rear-ending when traffic snarls up. The
Computer monitors traffic speed ahead and applies
the brakes as needed.
Adaptive Cruise Control - introduced within the past
few years, building upon established cruise control
functionality, but using radar to monitor and maintain
the gap between your car and the one in front.
Active Lane Assistance - alerts the driver if they stray
outside of the lane they are travelling in, and in more
advanced cases will steer the car back into the centre
of the lane.
These systems are all driving aids designed to enhance
or protect the driver. So how does this differ to
autonomous cars and the systems they use?

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Autonomous Cars Systems Integration

Autonomous cars are all about integrating disparate
driver aids to allow the computers in the vehicle to
make decisions without human intervention.
Whilst we often read about Tesla with their Autopilot
System, Audis Piloted Driving, BMW Connected Drive,
and Volvos Drive Me, in actual fact nearly all major
marques are working on these systems right now.

With manufacturers around the globe working at pace

to develop these systems, there needs to be a set of
parameters that promotes continuity and a coherent
motoring world. Coincidently over 100 years ago the
same scenario was faced during the inception of the
automotive industry as car companies sprang up
across the world and so in 1905 The Society of
Automotive Engineers was formed. The SAE began
work defining standards to be adhered to by the
automotive industry, and still operate in this capacity.
SAE International Standard J3016
The SAE have defined a standard outlining different
levels of autonomy and the split of responsibility.
Level 0 is not really an autonomous level, but more a
baseline indicating no driver aided systems beyond
familiar ABS and mechanical systems.
Level 1 defines Driver Assistance being where the
systems of the vehicle are responsible for certain
actions during operation. Automatic Emergency
Braking is a good example here. The systems monitor
particular parameters, and makes conscious decisions
based on data gathered to protect the occupants and
road users. In the case of AEB, it controls the brakes.

parameters, with the human only intervening where

the systems run into difficulty. For example, on a
motorway where the driving conditions are a
constant, the Level 3 systems can take control of
throttle, braking, and steering to drive the car. If the
system can no longer perform any of these tasks,
control is relinquished to the human.
Level 3 is where things start to get interesting, and the
level most manufactures are currently testing.
Systems from Audi, Tesla, BMW and Volvo, are all
competent Level 3 systems, and in actuality the are
now working on taking these to Level 4.
Level 4 or High Automation is where the systems
have full responsibility. The driver enters the
destination into the navigation system, and the car
performs all of the driving. The human is not expected
to perform any driving during the trip.
Level 5 or Full Automation is seen by some as a
contentious level. Here the computer can consciously
make the decision to override a humans attempt to
take control of a situation if it determines the action
will be dangerous for the vehicle occupants or other
road users.
Achieving Autonomy
When we talk about levels of autonomy, the mind
tries to comprehend what this actually means, and
how the systems integrate to achieve self-driving.
In order to build an autonomous car capable of Level
3 and above we need to combine a wide range of
sensors that allow detection and response to changing
traffic conditions. All manufacturers follow the same
basic principles by combining different sensor types to
perform the detailed analysis required.
Volvo have combined several of these systems in their
Drive Me solution, and will perform real-world testing
in Gothenburg in 2017.

Level 2 sees Partial Automation, where two systems

combine to further enhance the drivers assistance, or
protect in dangerous situations. This could be
Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Centring.
Level 3 is classified by SAE as Conditional
Automation, and is where the computers are mostly
responsible for the vehicle under particular

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An overview of the sensors employed can be seen in

their video here (Timestamp 0:24).
Hurdles to Autonomy
Inevitably there are obstacles to overcome in order to
achieve level 3 or level 4 vehicle autonomy.
For starters the general condition of many of the road
networks across the globe is poor. Pot holes, missing
road markings, faded lines, there are many issues with
our roads that may cause computers momentary
lapses in capability, and hence decision making.
Insurance and liability Who is accountable for an
accident in a world filled with self-driving cars, or
more complicatedly, in a world where both
autonomous and manual cars exist? This has been
widely discussed, although from a liability perspective
Volvo have now stepped forward and released a
statement declaring:
Volvo will accept full liability whenever one of its cars
are in autonomous mode.
This appears an incredible commitment, but makes a
lot of sense. From an accountability perspective we
will know whether the computer or the human was in
control of the vehicle at the time of the incident. With
all cars contributing to a knowledgebase of situational
awareness, the expertise of the computer drivers will
develop and improve over time.
Legislation This is where the SAE provide a good
foundation and continual development of standards
and processes. A car travelling between countries will
need to be capable of handling changes in law, local
signage, language comprehension, road markings, and
culturally accepted driving behaviour. The vehicles will
need to be able to understand particular nuances of
operating within each country they visit.
The biggest obstacle unfortunately is human nature
It will take a long time for us to accept and relinquish
control of the vehicle. There have been several video
reports on the autonomous cars, and in many cases
the reporters admitted to an inability to take their
eyes off the road for long periods of time, or to move
their hands away from the steering wheel.
It is precisely this hurdle that has caused some
industry experts to propose Level 3 is skipped to get
to Level 4 and 5. The fear is that Level 3 cars will allow
humans to intervene and make decisions the car could

have made better. What we may see is a hybrid of

Level 3 and 4 where the cars operate at high levels of
autonomy, but not initially on all roads or conditions.
Autonomous Car Testing in the Real World
From a market perspective, Boston Consulting Group
have assessed the market for driverless cars and all it
entails, and believe it could be worth around $42
billion by 2025. Leading up to this date, there will be
many tests performed, and details to be worked out.
In October 2015 Daimler tested self-driving trucks in
Germany with great success.
Volvo just completed a 125-mile multi-vehicle convoy
where the lead car was driven, with the chase vehicles
following autonomously connected over wireless link.
The UK have announced a ten truck convoy will be
tested on the M6 during 2016. The lead truck will be
driven, with the remaining nine in self-drive mode.
In 2017 Volvo will hand over one hundred
autonomous cars to families in Gothenburg for a long
term test.
Integrated Systems in Operation
Perhaps you have AEB, adaptive cruise control, or lane
centring on your current car, but it is rare we witness
what happens when these systems are integrated?
Hyundai used a test road in the Mojave Desert and six
Hyundai Genesis cars to demonstrate this premise.

You can watch the full video here.

Imagine how many rear-end shunts this could
prevent, and the reduction in insurance claims. Now
think about the number of cyclists and pedestrians
avoided. This technology has the potential to
dramatically reduce the number of injuries and
fatalities on our roads, and at the exponential rate
manufacturers are making progress, we will hopefully
see these benefits in the very near future.

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