Another major car maker unleashes autonomous driving - which brands already offer self-driving tech and is it safe?
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Car giant Stellantis – which owns Citroen, Peugeot and Vauxhall - has revealed its new automated driving technology is ready for deployment across its new models.
Stellantis' STLA AutoDrive, Hands-Free and Eyes-off Autonomous Technology is the company's first in-house-developed automated driving system that will soon allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel in motorway jams and watch films while the creep along in slow-moving traffic.
At the same time, Chinese EV giant BYD (Build Your Dreams) has presented a major change to its 'God's Eye' autonomous driving functionality, which brings self-driving tech to its full vehicle line-up, even the cheapest models.
These are just two of the latest examples of automotive players who have already rolled out self-driving tech.
Ford, BMW, Mercedes and Tesla are among the manufacturers with autonomous systems already developed at great cost; BMW's R&D centre opened last year in Czechia following a €300million.
So, as car companies compete to deliver self-driving, what exactly does it offer you, the driver? Is it safer than a human? Is it even legal in the UK and just how much money are car marques sinking into it?
Stellantis' - which owns Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat - STLA AutoDrive, Hands-Free and Eyes-off Autonomous Technology (Level 3 autonomous driving) is now ready for use across its cars
Stellantis' newly revealed STLA AutoDrive allows motorists to fully take their hands off the wheel and their eyes off the road to allow the vehicle to control the journey under certain conditions.
These conditions are motorway roads in stop-start, slow-moving traffic.
It means users temporarily engage in 'non-driving tasks', such as watching a movie, catching up on emails, reading a book or simply looking out the window, as long as the car is doing less than 37mph.
Bosses say this 'reduces driver workload in stop-and-go traffic, giving back valuable time' to its customers.
When traffic and environmental conditions are suitable, a driver will be notified that STLA AutoDrive is available for use.
Once activated by pressing a button on the steering wheel, the system takes control and will 'maintain safe distances, adjust speed, and manage steering and braking seamlessly based on traffic flow'.
The car's built in brain, powered by a suite of sensors, continuously monitors the surroundings 'to ensure high-precision awareness and reliable operation, even at night or in challenging weather conditions such as light rain or road spray'.
Models fitted with the tech will also get self-cleaning sensors that clear any dirt and grime to ensure it can operate with 'optimal reliability and functionality,' the brand says.
The tech arrives two years after Stellantis acquired aiMotive, a leading developer of advanced artificial intelligence and autonomous driving software, for an undisclosed fee in 2022 as it looked to progress its own self-driving systems to go head-to-head with rivals.
There are five levels (or six if you include Level 0) of autonomy to driver-assisted technology - a combination of highly complex artificial intelligence (AI) software, LiDar and RADAR sensing technology:
Level 1 - Assisted Driving: Requires the driver to always fully be in control of the vehicle but can be aided by driving assistance systems like adaptive cruise control or Lane Keep Assist.
Most drivers will be familiar with this level because such safety systems are considered the standard in new cars, and a requirement for good Euro NCAP safety scores.
Level 2 – Partially automated Driving: Also requires the driver to be in full control of the vehicle but can be assisted by longitudinal or lateral guidance systems (systems which control a vehicle's speed and distance from other vehicles and help the vehicle stay in lane or on a designated path) during the journey or while parking.
The main difference with Level 1 is that it carries out partially automated steering.
An example of Level 2 is Ford's BlueCruise - where you can experience hands-free driving on the motorway.
Level 3 – Conditionally automated driving: Takes over dynamic driving tasks such as steering, braking and accelerating under certain conditions.
Mercedes' Drive Pilot is a Level 3 autonomous system which allows you to take your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road – for instance to play a game on the screen - under certain conditions.
Level 4 – Highly automated driving: The stage before autonomous driving and means the car can navigate most of the journey itself. The driver isn't even necessarily needed (passenger shuttle) and the driver and passenger can spend the journey focusing on other things like watching TV.
The driver is no longer responsible for accidents or traffic offences.
Level 5 – Autonomous driving: This is when the car carries out all driving function itself and the driver doesn't do any driving at all or pay any attention to what's going on on the road. Technically the driver is no longer a driver – there are only passengers.
Mercedes was the first manufacturer to have legally approved Level 3 autonomous driving tech in its EQS and S-Class models
The Mercedes EQS not only has one of the longest ranges of any EV, 481 miles, it also has Level 3 autonomous driving tech
All car manufacturers across the board already offer lower levels of autonomous driving tech, but some brands have pushed ahead in the arms race in recent years.
In April 2023, Ford launched its own hands-free driving feature that became the first of its kind in the UK after being given the green light by the government.
The brand's BlueCruise system - available on the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV - facilitates drivers taking their hands off the wheel to allow the vehicle to steer itself as well as accelerate and slow down.
It was the first 'partial automation' assisted driving feature legally passed for use on roads in Europe, having received approval from the Department for Transport.
It is equipped with built in restrictions to ensure drivers don't abuse the system; geofencing technology means it can only be activated when the car is driven on motorways and cameras in the cabin scan the user to make sure they are paying attention at all times and will brake the vehicle automatically if they fail to take back control.
Ford BlueCruise is designated as Level 2 automation, meaning drivers can take their hands off the wheel but they must keep their eyes on the road at all times and be able to take back control of the vehicle immediately if prompted.
However, other companies are further ahead in the race to deliver full self driving cars and have brought Level 3 autonomous driving to market.
In 2022, Mercedes became the first car maker to offer a legally approved Level 3 autonomous driving system.
Drive Pilot, available on the S-Class and EQS in Germany and the US allows hands-free eyes-off driving on highways and motorways up to 40mph. Play a game or watch a movie – you don't have to 'drive' in the typical sense.
Two years later, BMW in 2024 became the first car maker in the world to receive approval for a combination of a Level 2 driving assistance system (BMW Highway Assistant) and a Level 3 system (BMW Personal Pilot L3) in the same vehicle with the BMW 7 Series.
Its 7 Series drivers can be hands-free and 'eyes-off' under certain conditions at speeds up to 37mph – like in motorway traffic jams.
And the money invested is into the silly sums: VW invested $2.3 billion in Beijing robotics company Horizon's autonomous tech, while Toyota pledged £2.2 billion to develop self-driving software.
BMW also offers Level 3 autonomous driving tech in its 7 Series which can be used in traffic jams on motorways up to 37mph and allows you to be hands-free and eyes-free
The UK is theoretically able to have fully self-driving cars on its roads as early as 2026 but this seems highly unlikely to happen
The UK's Autonomous Vehicles (AV) Act became law on 20 May 2024.
Then Transport Secretary Mark Harper said that it meant 'self-driving vehicles can be rolled out on British roads as soon as 2026.'
The AV Acts covers numerous points including requiring self-driving vehicles to pass a safety test to prove they are as capable as human drivers and setting a legal framework for liability for autonomous driving crashes.
However, currently the UK only has Level 3 autonomous driving cars on offer include the Nissan Ariya with its ProPilot system, the Mercedes EQS and S Class with Drive Pilot and the BMW 7 Series with Personal Pilot L3 – we're a step away from the 2026 self-driving expectation.
A 2024 study by the University of Central Florida found that autonomous or self-driving vehicles had lower accident rates than humans in work zones, traffic events and 'pre-accident movements'.
The crash data of 2,100 autonomous vehicles and 35,113 human-driven vehicles in California between 2016 and 2022, however also found that self-driving cars struggled if they drive at low-light conditions such as sunrise or sunset on roads with many turns.
Self-driving taxi trials in the US are the other main source of safety research into the matter.
Waymo and another autonomous driving company Cruise both reported self-driving cars are involved in fewer crashes than human-driven ride-hailing vehicles.
Cruise, in conjunction with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), analysed 5.6million miles of ride hail-driven data as a benchmark against which to compare AVs. Cruise found its vehicles were involved in 65 per cent fewer collisions overall.
On the flip side National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that human error accounts for 94 per cent to 96 per cent of all car accidents.
Even potentially encouraging safety stats don't seem to be enough to persuade many people though: A 2023 study by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers suggested seven out of ten people would be uncomfortable travelling in an autonomous vehicle with no human control.
Nearly a third of people worried about how the car would deal with accidents.
Michelle Breffitt, Co-founder of Women Drive Electric Facebook Group, can see how autonomous tech can be divisive but believes it is also 'exciting': 'I can understand why this futurist step could feel precarious in sliding towards a rise of the machines, allowing them to think for us rather than just 'do' for us, but autonomous EV tech has already been warmly welcomed into our driving habits with the likes of autopilot and accident detection warnings.'
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