The Autonomous Driving Arms Race – Who Will Win?
Although the debate regarding whether or not autonomous cars are beneficial for the common person continues, there has been quite the arms race for driverless cars recently. Renowned automobile manufacturers around the world are working on introducing autonomous vehicles. And as expected, the introduction of new driverless technology has quickly turned into a race for whose autonomous vehicle hits the market first! Read on about the top five players most likely to bring self-driving cars to consumers.
Leading the race for autonomous driving technologies is Tesla. The brand aims to be the first to get its driverless cars to the market and has without doubt made some intriguing progress (placing pressure on other manufacturers). In October 2015, the brand rolled out its semi-autonomous autopilot system which gives Tesla vehicles autonomous capabilities like self-parking, highway auto-steer, and automatic lane change. Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla) earlier this year said he plans to release fully autonomous vehicles in three years (earlier than most manufacturers who are aiming for 2020).
Google is second in the arms race for autonomous vehicles. Even though the company has been testing driverless cars longer than any other automobile manufacturers and even introduced a self-driving vehicle, the “Google Self-Driving Car”, it still has a lot of work to do. The autonomous car Google introduced uses the software “Google Chauffeur” and features about $150,000 worth of equipment.
Therefore, the brand is still far away from introducing production-ready autonomous vehicles for daily-purpose driving, but is definitely making progress (testing its technologies on cars like Lexus RX450h, Audi TT, and Toyota Prius).
Mercedes has also been working hard on introducing autonomous technologies and recently introduced the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. This new vehicle utilizes the Drive Pilot Technology, which uses advanced adaptive cruise control, Distance Pilot DISTRONIC and Steering Pilot Assist, along with Active Emergency Stop Assist, Speed Limit Pilot, and a range of other technologies.
With all these advanced technologies, the car can drive down a well-lit and well-marked freeway, without any input from the driver. However, according to some reports, the autonomous technology was dissatisfying as compared to Tesla.
General Motors (GM) has also jumped on the autonomous vehicle bandwagon and recently announced its acquisition of the Cruise Automation Company. The automobile manufacturer aims to add Cruises’ rapid development capability and deep software talent to further boost the development of GM’s driverless technology to offer improved safety, greater convenience and lower cost. Cruise Automation will operate as an independent unit within GM’s autonomous technology’s development, led by the GM vice president of driverless technology, Doug Parks.
Toyota has also entered the autonomous vehicle sector and has aims on setting itself apart from the competition using a different approach to driverless technology. The automobile manufacturer was recently found to be testing an autonomous vehicle prototype on the roads of Tokyo to demonstrate its different philosophy, while also achieving parity with other carmakers. The brand calls its project “Highway Teammate”.
So, who will win the autonomous car arms race? Only TIME will tell, but these top five automakers definitely have an upper hand on other brands.
