Driverless cars11 Jul 2018 08:11
Daily Telegraph article today
DRIVERLESS CARS
Technology Intelligence
By Matthew Field
GERMAN hardware and automotive giants Bosch and Daimler are to launch a pilot in the US to test autonomous vehicles in a challenge to tech firms like Waymo and Uber.
The driverless vehicle project will see Mercedes Benz cars designed for a driverless car shuttle service. The project will aim to develop Level 4 and Level 5 capabilities of autonomous driving, meaning cars will be able to drive without any human interaction.
Both Bosch and Daimler have been making a push into driverless cars and ride-sharing. Daimler has taken stakes in businesses to rival Uber, including a majority stake in MyTaxi and a joint venture with ride-sharing start-up Via.
The companies are set to launch a pilot project in a city in the San Francisco Bay area in 2019, which will see a mix of autonomous cars, car sharing and ride-hailing programmes being trialled in tandem. The test fleet will be operated by Daimler Mobility Services, while the cars will be equipped with Nvidia artificial intelligence chips to control the on-board computers.
The chips will allow the cars to navigate using radar, video and ultrasound technology, as well as “lidar” laser sensors.
‘Safety has the highest priority and is the constant theme on our way to the start of series production’
Last year, the two companies signed a deal to begin developing a fleet of driverless taxis. The trial will see the cars reaching Level 4 and 5 of automated driving. The cars will initially have a safety driver, the companies said, however they will eventually have the ability to be entirely self-driving.
Dr Michael Hafner, head of automated driving at Daimler, and Dr Stephan Hönle, head of automated driving at Bosch, stressed safety would be a priority. Tests of driverless cars on public roads have come under scrutiny in the US since a fatal collision involving an Uber self-driving car in March.
Dr Hafner said: “Safety has the highest priority and is the constant theme of all aspects and development stages on our way to the start of series production. If in doubt, thoroughness comes before speed.”
Self-driving car projects have been stepping up across Silicon Valley and the US. At the Consumer Electronics Show this year, Lyft showcased rides in its autonomous taxis which attendees could hail using its ride-sharing app.
Meanwhile, Google-owned Waymo has said it plans to launch a self-driving taxi service in Phoenix in Arizona later this year. Waymo has begun ordering thousands of cars that will ultimately end up in its autonomous taxi fleet.
Daimler also announced this week that it had been given permission to test autonomous cars on Chinese roads, becoming the first Western company to do so.
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