When It Comes to Semi-Autonomous Driving Systems, It’s Tesla Versus Everyone Else6 Sep 2022 11:44
In the past few decades, we’ve gone from very basic adaptive cruise control systems to Level 3 autonomous driving. The latter will essentially drive the car for you without needing any input from behind the wheel. This level of assistance hasn’t yet hit the roads (at least legally) but remains incredibly exciting. It’s therefore one of the most noteworthy automotive technologies to look out for this year. Tesla is currently—for better or for worse—leading the charge with “full self-driving” (FSD), which remains blockaded by legal red tape. Just last year Elon said that FSD-equipped Teslas will be able to drive themselves with safety levels substantially greater than that of the average person.
Other automakers are hot on Elon’s tail with systems of their own. One of the most notable is General Motors, with its subscription-based Super Cruise and Ultra Cruise technologies. Innovation in this area has been happening at a lightning-fast pace and shows no signs of stopping. However, automakers need to balance the need for innovation with driver safety.
“Many drivers already rely on driver aids, such as lane-keeping assist, collision braking control, and blind-spot detection which help prevent accidents and correct careless driving,” says Mercedes Lilienthal, an automotive journalist and PR/marketing consultant for automotive companies. While these systems are a quantum leap, both Lilienthal and I agree that the existing technology to ensure the driver remains focused on the road ahead should stay in place. Full autonomy on the freeway sounds great, but driving in the city presents a much bigger challenge with pedestrians and particularly cyclists—whose unpredictability makes them currently the kryptonite of these driverless systems. Avoiding pedestrians and cyclists is especially important to get right, as we obviously need to share the road.
GM is one automotive group that’s making an effort toward doing things differently with its Super Cruise system. Compared to FSD, which the driver can use just about anywhere at their discretion, Super Cruise is only available on highways that have been pre-mapped with cameras and GPS data. This is the safest environment to test these types of systems, as the freeway is comparatively much more predictable and generally free of any pedestrians and cyclists to worry about.
GM’s less aggressive approach to data collection means Super Cruise (SC) will inherently evolve more slowly. However, late last year, GM announced Ultra Cruise (UC), which will allow select premium vehicles to enjoy the benefits of SC outside of the pre-scanned network of highways. UC also has baked-in diagnostics that can identify when the system needs upgrading—automatically recording incidents and sending the data back to GM’s data ecosystem.
https://reporterwings.com/news/when-it-comes-to-semi-autonomous-driving-systems-its-tesla-versus-everyone-else/
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