Neil Kennett - Cars of the Future

You like autonomous and we like self-driving, as US and UK push different descriptors.

A divergence in self-driving terminology: has Tesla’s FSD wrecked general usage in America?

The issue of confusing terminology in the, er, self-driving / driverless / autonomous / automated vehicle industry, has raised its ugly head once again, with the US and UK apparently heading in opposite directions.

An article on the 2025AD website this week, titled “Autonomous driving: Do we need a common language to move forward?”, warned that “unclear terminology limits understanding”.

The oft-quoted Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has recently updated its “Levels of Driving Automation”, revealing in itself, reflecting a shift towards “Automated” and away from “Autonomous” in some quarters.

Self-driving in the UK

Then there’s “self-driving”. In the UK, the Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and others have been keen to embrace it in place of “driverless”.

For example, in its “Government paves the way for self-driving vehicles on UK roads” statement in April, and the two mentions in the Queen’s Speech 2022 lobby pack.

You can see the logic. It isn’t generally good practice to brand something by what it’s not, so “self-driving” certainly has the advantage over “driverless” in that respect.

We’re talking headline descriptors here. Let’s not even get into acronyms… like the fact there’s one letter difference between Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Driving Systems (ADS) when confusing the two is so dangerous. Grrr.

Self-driving in Korea

Anyway, back to self-driving. We’re not alone in liking it. For example, this month saw the launch of the epically-named Self-driving Robot Alliance in Korea.

Park Jae-young, official for Korean industrial policy, said: “I hope that the Self-driving Robot Alliance will become a place to drive the growth of the domestic self-driving robot market.”

Argument over then, self-driving it is. Not if the largest economy in the world has anything to do with it!

Autonomous in America

Across the pond, Americans are falling out of love with the term “self-driving” and going back to “autonomous”.

TechCrunch reported last year that Waymo was dropping self-driving. Now, the lobbying group the Self-driving Coalition for Safer Streets (including big hitters like Cruise, Ford and Argo AI) has changed its name to the Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Industry Association.

You have to question Tesla’s part in all this. It’s a shame, given everything Elon Musk has done for electric cars, that so many hyperbolic headlines are caused by its confusingly-named Full Self-Driving (FSD) package.

It simply isn’t self-driving as the rest of the industry understands it, and it risks drivers misunderstanding what their cars are capable of.

As Forbes reported back in 2020, Tesla has already had to rebrand its Autopilot as Autodrive in Germany. Has its Full Self-Driving (FSD) brand wrecked the self-driving name for everyone else?

Define self-driving

Not in the UK apparently. British Standards group, BSi, with its famous kitemarks, recently updated its connected and automated vehicles (CAV) vocabulary, sponsored by the autonomous-leaning CCAV.

Thanks to lead technical author Nick Reed, of Reed Mobility, BSI Flex 1890 v4.0:2022-03 included some notable additions, not least for “self-driving”.

BSi's CAV vocabulary includes "self-driving" — BSi’s CAV vocabulary includes “self-driving”

Referencing other definitions in the document, BSi defined self-driving as: “Full function of the dynamic driving task (2.1.24), performed by the automated driving system (2.1.7) within its operational design domain (2.1.48)”.

By way of justification, the definition was accompanied by two notes: 1) Although this term is deprecated within SAE J3016 (2021), it is included here because this is the term best understood by the public to mean the definition as stated (which is the same as that for automated driving).

And 2): The Law Commission of England and Wales and Scottish Law Commission joint report (2022) extended this definition with the condition that the vehicle is to drive “safely and legally, even if an individual is not monitoring the driving environment, the vehicle or the way that it drives”.

Peter Stoker, Chief Engineer for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles at Millbrook, nutshelled the issue last year, telling us: “The key to the future of self-driving is education, education, education – for everyone, the public, vehicle manufacturers, the aftermarket… we have to work on the terminology – autonomous, driverless, CAV, CAM – it’s confusing, even to people who know what they’re talking about.”

With marketing teams in the US pushing “autonomous” and the UK and others pushing “self-driving”, the confusion looks set to continue.

Highway Code changes to move Britain “closer to a self-driving revolution” sparked some stonking new driverless headlines…

Top 5 jaw-dropping self-driving headlines UK press April-May 2022

As part of our mission to encourage more sensible debate about self-driving, it’s important to keep an eye on how the rest of the media covers our industry.

As usual, extra points are available for informed commentary and nuanced safety messages in another exciting edition of… Hyperbolic Headlines!

Since April, when the government set out changes to The Highway Code to move Britain “closer to a self-driving revolution”, there have been some absolute stonkers in the UK press.

Self-driving revolution stories

Here’s our Top 5 from the last few weeks…

At No.5, this, from The Guardian on 20 April, is a good example of the widespread reaction: “Sit back and enjoy a film at the wheel in your driverless car – but don’t use the phone”.

At No 4. Is it helpful or is it scary? From inews.co.uk on 11 May: “Driverless cars will need ‘L-plates or flashing lights’ to combat widespread fear and distrust, report finds”.

At No.3. Give this one a second or two. Missing the point in spectacular style, The Express on 30 April, with: “Autonomous learner cars could be a reality – but not for at least 20 years”.

The bar is getting pretty high now.

At No.2. The Telegraph, who have form for self-driving pessimism, were at it again on 2 May: “Driverless cars will be a disappointment, if they ever arrive”.

I know. How can that ever be beaten? Well…

At No.1, step forward Jeremy Clarkson in The Sun on 22 April with: “Driverless cars are pointless – and they have built-in instructions to kill you”.

As we’ve noted before, the self-driving industry has a public perception mountain to climb.

AXA Insurance UK’s Doug Jenkins talks ADAS, self-driving, MAAS and more…

AXA’s Jenkins on ADAS and self-driving: a fascinating time for motor insurance

One of the most engaging panellists at the recent Zenzic CAM Innovators event, Doug Jenkins, Motor Technical Risk Manager at AXA Insurance UK, gives an insurer’s perspective on ADAS and self-driving.

What are your views on Mercedes accepting responsibility for accidents caused by its automated lane keeping system?

DJ: “This is a really interesting announcement and is in line with the recommendations from the Law Commission. On paper, the liability is clear, but I think there is some work still do – together – before we can work out how it would play out in practice.

“There’s also a massive difference between retail insurance and fleet insurance. For an individual policyholder, one of these ALKS-equipped cars would probably be on a comprehensive policy with a small excess, whereas in the fleet market a lot of people almost self-insure, with huge excesses on third party only cover. I’m guessing Mercedes focused on the retail business, but it will be interesting to see the implications for fleets.

“Let’s think about what happens in a claim: You’re lucky enough to be given one of these cars as a fleet vehicle and unfortunately you get sideswiped. There might well be a sticker on the windscreen with the number of an accident management company or a fleet manager.

What happens next is important. The person who takes the first notification call will run through a script and ask certain questions. They’ll ask what happened and you might say “They clipped me and took off the wing mirror”, you’re unlikely to say, “It was an issue with their lane assist system”.

“If it’s a sub-£5,000 claim, an accident management company might well just authorise the repair and arrange it via one of their approved repair centres. Job done. This Mercedes announcement means interfering with that very efficient process. Even if an insurer starts looking at the cause of the accident, the report might say “The vehicle just came to a stop – it was a malfunction”. The driver was still supposed to remain in control so how do you attribute blame to the lane assist?

“As an insurer providing basic Road Traffic Act (RTA) cover, we would have to pay any losses and then go to Mercedes and say we’d like our money back. We will need to develop the process of sign-off and how the costs are charged back – of course, these things will come as we get deeper into the deployment of AVs.”

What are the implications of attaching liability to the vehicle rather than the driver?

DJ: “I wish I had a pound for every time this came up in conversation! Let’s say the law changes and self-driving is allowed. What cover would be needed? Does it look like a motor policy? At AXA we’ve got working groups looking at that. It’s all in the wording but very few people read the 50-page agreements – they just want to be covered so we want to make the end product as comprehensive as possible.

“The definition of insurance is transferring risk. Somebody pays for loss or damage caused by something going wrong. That’s the bottom line. We currently insure several organisations trialling autonomous vehicles in the UK, so we understand the exposure. They’re close to the point where they want to take the safety drivers out, and we’re very involved in that discussion.

“The rate of progress is increasing. I bought a Q4 recently and Audi’s technical centre couldn’t answer one of my queries because “it is too new”. We’ve recently clarified our cover for electric vehicles (EVs), looking at things like cables trailing and chargers blowing up. These are new eventualities, but it’s just a case of changing the wording to respond to these new customer needs.

“When it comes to full autonomy, I know it sounds complicated but, in all honesty, I don’t think it will be. Rest assured, by working with The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Thatcham, the insurance industry will take new factors into account and provide the right cover.”

Is it sensible for ALKS to be the first system defined in UK law as “automated”?

DJ: “As Thatcham have made clear, we’re not particularly encouraged by this being the first stage. The main reason being: ALKS doesn’t pull over safely if something goes wrong. If it could proceed to a safe location – for example, a hard shoulder – then fine, but we’re a long way away from that.

“The government have set out the position – they want the UK to lead in this – but I am concerned that it could become confusing for the public when really autonomous vehicles come to the market as this technology really does just keep you in your lane.

“Admittedly, it’s a complicated area because of the historic legislation, but there’s a reason all insurers pay into Thatcham – they do a lot of great research – and I think their advice should be listened to.”

Very broadly, what are your views on the biggest claims made about self-driving vehicles?

DG: “The implications for car ownership are interesting, particularly for the younger generation. In my day, passing your test and getting your first car was all about mobility. Young people still want to get from A to B, but they want choices – they’re not so worried about ownership.

“The Highlands Transport Partnership is a good example of mobility as a service (MAAS) – providing access to buses, trains, cars and bikes through a single app. There are more flexible ways to have a car too, for example, to change model every month if you want.

“People talk about a world of zero collisions and, having dealt with serious accidents, it’s a great goal. We know that around 90% of accidents are due to human error. People do silly things and when you have pedestrians, cyclists and old internal combustion engine vehicles sharing a space there is risk. We’ll certainly be much closer to zero collisions once all cars are connected and automated.

“In the meantime, I expect the type of claim to change. Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) will mean less vehicles running into back of third parties, which are usually the most expensive. Assisted driving means there should be less slow speed collisions, and there are currently lots of those.

“It wasn’t so long ago that people started building motorised vehicles and it took around 30 years for that legislation to come in. I think what’s happening now with self-driving is very similar to that.”

Anything else you’d like to mention re self-driving?

DJ: “It’s an absolutely fascinating time to be involved in motor insurance. At the moment the UK is behind the US in terms of getting these vehicles on the road. In San Francisco the police pulled over a driverless car and it just drove off.

“Our role is to move with the times and provide end-to-end cover, to help you get from A to B, even via C and D, safely and on time. I know there are ongoing discussions between the ABI and The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) about what data we can receive from connected cars, and about standardising the format.

“In the here and now, AXA has just launched the STeP app, a digital claims solution on the retail side. We’ve developed it in-house and the thought that’s gone into it is amazing. It will dramatically reduce the time from notification to repair and customer feedback has been very positive.”

AB Dynamics and NASCAR conduct 130mph self-driving crash test at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama

Video: amazing 130mph self-driving NASCAR crash test at Talladega Superspeedway

On 12 May 2022, automotive test specialist AB Dynamics posted this smashing self-driving video of its recent work with NASCAR, developing “a driverless solution for conducting a 130mph crash test”:

AB Dynamics and NASCAR 130mph self-driving crash test

The on-track planned accident, featuring the “Next Gen” NASCAR race car, was conducted at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, with the aim of generating real-world crash test data to correlate with simulations.

The test vehicle was driven at 130mph (209km/h) on a pre-programmed course into the wall, hitting a precise point in the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier at an angle of 24 degrees.

Self-driving tech

The hardware used included AB Dynamics’ SR60 driving robot for steering and CBAR600 for pedals, plus its Gearshift Robot – all off-the-shelf products.

The inputs were provided by AB Dynamics’ path following software, which used pre-recorded driving information and geometric GPS data to accurately navigate the route.

AB Dynamics and NASCAR self-driving crash test in-car

This package ensured the vehicle hit the wall at 130.015mph within one degree of the prescribed angle.

Official comments

Craig Hoyt, Business Development Manager at AB Dynamics, said: “The challenge was trying to get this extremely complex machine to do a very precise test without a human driver piloting the car.

“AB Dynamics robots allowed NASCAR to use a fully running race car and conduct the test at a real race track at real race speeds. There is no better data than replicating crash tests in a real environment and our robots enable us to do that accurately and repeatedly.

“This is one of the highest speed crash tests we have ever conducted and the robots only suffered minor damage. It really is a testament to the safety of the vehicle, the barriers and the ruggedness of our products.”

John Patalak, Managing Director of Safety Engineering at The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), said: “This is a truly innovative way to test the safety of vehicles in motorsport. The data we obtained from the test was extremely important and was not possible to get from any crash test facilities at the time.

“The test provided valuable information for correlation with our computer crash simulations and confirmed that the predicted vehicle impact performance from the simulation was duplicated in this real-world crash test.”

The video is another great demonstration of high-speed self-driving, following the PoliMOVE car setting a new world speed record (192.2mph) on the famous Space Shuttle landing strip at Cape Canaveral in late April.

50 years on from a forward-looking BBC news report on driverless cars, how close did they get to today’s reality?

Video: BBC Archive releases remarkably prescient 1971 news report on driverless cars

On 5 May, the BBC Archive released a news broadcast from May 1971 showcasing “driverless cars and the future of motoring”, as part of its Retro Transport strand.

Self-driving 1971 style

Filmed at the Road Research Laboratory (RRL) in Berkshire – which became the Transport Research Laboratory, and then TRL, which now runs London’s Smart Mobility Living Lab – our man from the Beeb makes some bold predictions.

So, with the massive benefit of hindsight, how did he get on?

He begins: “There’ll be 30 million cars on the roads of Britain by the end of this century. And motoring will be quite different.”

That’s a strong start as, according to Statista, the number of licensed cars in the UK in the year 2000 was 27.2 million, hugely up from around 10 million when he made the prediction. Not bad crystal-ball gazing!

He goes on to discuss how on-board black-box recorders will assist with toll-paying and traffic regulation, saying: “They’ve been showing us for the first time some of the machinery which will enable them to bill us by computer for driving in these places.

“The idea is that at the entrance to the busy city centre or to other crucial points on the road, there’ll be electrified loops of wire underneath the road surface. And as a car passes, it activates these electric wires.”

Not 10 out of 10 maybe, but still remarkably prescient given congestion charging and telematics-based insurance are now a reality.

It also brings to mind our interview last year with Elliot Hemes, of IPG Automotive UK, who suggested: “You could say, for example, you can’t use the M6 Toll unless you have vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications. That would enable platooning.”

So, 50 years on, in terms of road-charging and vehicle connectivity in the UK, his prediction is well on the way to becoming true. Can he keep it up?

The next segment covers research into the most efficient means of getting vehicles on and off Channel Tunnel trains.

Again, he’s pretty spot on, apart from optimistically suggesting this could be in operation by 1978. In reality, construction didn’t start for another decade and the service wasn’t available until 1994. Still, on the big points, he hasn’t been wrong yet.

Driverless crystal-ball gazing

The report saved the best til last, with the segment on self-driving beginning just over two-minutes in.

The reporter enthused: “The very last word is the totally automatic car, no driver at all. The whole thing’s remotely controlled by cables and electrics under the road.”

Hmmm, that’s sounds more like Scalextric than an autonomous vehicle.

Still, he pressed on: “Steering, accelerating, gear-changing, braking and stopping, all the switches and electronics in the car could be provided for £100.”

If only. Maybe costs will come down over time and he’ll end up being proved right.

Thankfully, he rediscovers his inner Nostradmus towards the end, explaining: “The radar device on the front will one day be able to tell how near you are to the car in front of you and slow you down automatically.”

Basically, automated emergency braking (AEB).

Adding: “It’s all needed because you and I are not as good as machines. We tire, we lose concentration, we get cross. One day we will just be able to link our car onto an automatic system to take us right up the motorway.”

I heard something very similar at the Zenzic Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) Innovators event just last month.

He concluded: “So, we’ve had a glimpse or two of driving of the future. It’s going to be probably easier, certainly more regimented. And the day may come when the driver becomes totally redundant.”

Most impressive, as Darth Vader said in Empire Strikes Back, especially considering the Star Wars universe was still a figment of George Lucas’s imagination.

NEVS Sango EVs to be fitted with Oxbotica self-driving tech.

Gimme, gimme, gimme a robotaxi after midnight! Oxbotica and NEVS unite for self-driving, all-electric on-demand mobility

Just in time for Eurovision, one of the UK’s leading self-driving companies, Oxbotica, has a signed a long-term strategic partnership with Swedish disruptive mobility organisation, NEVS.

Stefan Tilk of NEVS and Gavin Jackson of Oxbotica agree new self-driving EV deal

The agreement will see Oxbotica integrating its Driver autonomy system into NEVS’ eye-catching Sango electric vehicle (EV). The result: a fleet of self-driving, all-electric vehicles providing on-demand mobility services on geo-fenced public roads by the end of 2023.

“Gimme, gimme, gimme a robotaxi after midnight” as Swedish super troup and multi-Eurovison winners, ABBA, nearly said.

If successful, “multiple projects in Europe” will follow in 2024 and, from 2025 onwards, the solution will be “scaled across the globe”.

Self-driving collaborations

Oxbotica is building a reputation for major collaborations and Cars of the Future was on the money (money money) with news of its all-weather radar localisation solution for automated vehicles (AVs) with Navtech Radar, and its AV trial at BP’s Lingen refinery in Germany.

You can read more about the Oxford University spin-out’s vision in this 2021 interview with Co-founder and CTO, Professor Paul Newman.

Its new partner, National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS), was established in 2012, with roots from the 1940s, and is based in Trollhättan in Sweden’s famous automotive cluster.

Official comments

Commenting on the NEVS partnership, Gavin Jackson, new CEO at Oxbotica, said: “The combination of Oxbotica Driver and this stunning, next-generation, electric vehicle is a perfect match.

“It allows us to create an urban mobility service that will make roads safer, cleaner, and less congested, and provide customers with a new way to travel. The partnership will truly change how the earth moves and I can’t wait to see the first vehicles out on the road next year.”

Stefan Tilk, President at NEVS, said: “Having a partnership with Oxbotica and being able to progress substantially with its autonomous stack as the “driver”, will indeed make the ecosystem of our mobility solution complete.

“Through this partnership we will be able to deploy pilots and commercial fleets – ensuring a breakthrough in the movement of people in a green, safe and smart way, paving the way for sustainable cities.”

As detailed in Queen’s Speech 2022 lobby pack, the self-driving sector is predicted to be worth £41.7bn to the UK economy by 2035. The winner takes it all, apparently.

Somewhat surprisingly, as it had been trailed, there was no mention of self-driving in the 2022 Queen’s Speech

Queen’s Speech 2022: a notable absence and no mention of self-driving

The 2022 Queen’s Speech – delivered by Prince Charles following Monday’s announcement that the monarch would not attend – set out the UK government’s legislative programme but, somewhat disappointingly, there was no mention of self-driving.

This despite the letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 17 major UK businesses calling for primary legislation for automated vehicles (AVs) to be included…

… and the Queen’s Speech 2022: Transport In Focus article, published on the House of Lords Library webpage on 5 May, which said: “The speech is expected to include several measures concerning transport… establishing a new rail body; regulating the sale of e-scooters; and providing for driverless cars.”

House of Lords Library re self-driving in Queen’s Speech 2022

No self-driving?

Come the big day, there was only this broad commitment: “My Government will improve transport across the United Kingdom, delivering safer, cleaner services and enabling more innovations.”

Indeed, the only transport sector to get a special mention was rail: “Legislation will be introduced to modernise rail services and improve reliability for passengers.”

It was left to others to fill in the gaps.

AA president, Edmund King, said: “The world of transport is changing rapidly with new innovations and technologies for consumers to choose from. Regardless of how people travel, we must keep the consumer at the heart of it.

“For car owners, the drive towards electrification needs more support and we are pleased to see more emphasis on boosting the public charging network. As well as installing more chargepoints, we need to ensure they are reliable, easy to use, safe and accessible to all.

“Similarly, drivers will need to be part of the conversation when it comes to introducing more autonomous technology in cars. Drivers are not quite ready to take their hands off the wheel and are nervous about handing over responsibility to the car but are supportive of technology such as autonomous emergency braking which enhances safety.

“With e-scooters and other forms of micro-mobility popping up more frequently on UK roads, it makes sense that safety regulation should come first. If introduced alongside appropriate infrastructure, e-mobility could help provide a positive shift in greener localised travel both for individuals and last-mile freight.”

Cllr David Renard, Transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “Councils are determined to tackle climate change and are already supporting the transition to electric vehicles. It is good that the Queen’s Speech outlines ambitions to speed up this transition but councils need clarity about their role in delivering this change.”

Other parts of the speech which may be relevant to self-driving included “An Energy Bill to deliver the transition to cheaper, cleaner, and more secure energy” and the announcement that “The United Kingdom’s data protection regime will be reformed”.

Ah well, remember the glory days when, at the state opening of parliament, the Queen said: “My ministers will ensure the UK is at the forefront of technology for new forms of transport, including autonomous and electric vehicles.” That was back in 2016.

[Edit at 11.30am on Wed 11 May ]

Our thanks to Felix Boon, Solicitor and Senior Claim Adjuster at Zurich Insurance, for pointing out that, deep in the Queen’s Speech 2022 lobby pack (on page 31 of 140), there are couple of brief references to self-driving:

“Legislation for self-driving vehicles will enable an emerging UK sector in this new technology, predicted by the Connected Places Catapult in 2020 to be worth £41.7 billion to the UK economy by 2035 and expected to create 38,000 new skilled jobs.”

And

“Introducing new laws that safely enable self-driving and remotely operated vehicles and vessels, support the roll-out of electric vehicle charge points and enabling the licensing of London pedicabs.”

Apparently not worthy of inclusion in the actual Speech!

Finnish company Sensible 4 tests two self-driving Toyota Proace vans at minus 20 degrees.

Snow way! Finland successfully trials L4 self-driving in worst weather for years

At this week’s FT Future of the Car Summit, Volkswagen Group CEO, Herbert Diess, predicted it could take years for self-driving cars to master extreme weather.

He’s probably right, but the technology is progressing at a startling rate. See this incredible footage from testing in Q1 2022 by Finnish self-driving company, Sensible 4:

Video: Sensible 4 self-driving Toyota Proace in Tampere, Finland, in 2022

Conducted in Tampere, southern Finland, the two-and-a-half month pilot scheme involved two self-driving Toyota Proace vans operating in mixed traffic on a 3.5km route at up to 30km/h, in what Sensible 4 describe as “the worst and most challenging winter conditions in years”.

Sensible 4 self-driving Toyota Proace in street in Tampere, Finland, 2022

The treacherous conditions included temperatures below -20°C, heavy snowfall, freezing rain, and additional slipperiness due to temperature variations around zero degrees. Not exactly the glorious sunshine of San Francisco, or even Margate for that matter!

Sensible 4 develops SAE Level 4 full-stack autonomous driving software potentially capable of giving any vehicle self-driving capabilities. The technology combines software and information from different sensors to enable operation, it claims, “in all weather conditions”.

Sensible 4 self-driving Toyota Proace cabin view

The pilot was a part of the EU-funded SHOW project, with an aim to find out how autonomous vehicles could work as a part of future urban transportation.

Public reaction to the vans – emblazoned with the slogan “I’m Driverless” – was said to be positive.

Sensible 4 self-driving Toyota Proace with I’m driverless slogan

Mika Kulmala, Project Manager for the City of Tampere, said: “The self-driving vehicles ran smoothly and felt safe. In the future, I see these kinds of vehicles complementing the public transportation system for certain routes and amounts of passengers.

“We still need more testing to make sure of reliability, and that the service either brings cost-savings or gives a better service level to the population.”

Sensible 4 self-driving Toyota Proace with bus in Tampere — Sensible 4 self-driving Toyota Proace with public transport in Tampere

The project’s national coordinator, Pekka Eloranta, from Sitowise, added: “We got a good amount of passengers to try and test the service, even some regular customers.

“Also, we were able to collect feedback, for example, concerning accessibility. This aspect is important to take into account to be able to provide service to all user groups in the future.”

Sensible 4 self-driving Toyota Proace vans

Jussi Suomela, of Sensible 4, was understandably very satisfied. “This pilot was valuable for understanding the customer and end-user needs better, including especially the accessibility aspects,” he said.

“The weather was exceptionally snowy but the software and vehicles performed well and we were able to collect important test data of the extreme conditions and experience of the challenging weather.”

Sensible 4 will continue operating pilots later this year in Norway, Switzerland, Japan and Germany.

VW and Volvo CEOs talk connected and automated mobility (CAM) at the FT’s Future of the Car Summit 2022.

Next gen mobility will be transformational like smartphones predicts new Volvo CEO Rowan

Connected and automated mobility (CAM) featured prominently on the first morning of the four-day Future of the Car Summit 2022, hosted by Financial Times Live.

The online-only first day (Monday 9 May), ahead of in-person and digital events tomorrow and Wednesday, included big name vehicle manufacturer speakers – Volkswagen Group CEO, Herbert Diess, and Volvo Cars CEO, Jim Rowan.

Future mobility

Diess targeted an 10-12% market share in the US and reiterated that he sees VW as a tech company not a car company.

VW's Herbert Diess at the launch of the first BP Flexpole EV fast charger — VW’s Herbert Diess at the launch of the first BP Flexpole EV fast charger

On connectivity, he described modern cars as “most advanced devices on the internet”, saying: “Up until now, you do the hardware, electronics, software, you do the launch and then you don’t touch it anymore.

“Now, you continuously work on the systems in the car to deliver more functionality. In autonomous driving, the car becomes a learning device. You have to upgrade the software over time, you have to take all this responsibility.”

He also predicted it could take years for self-driving cars to master extreme weather.

Like feature phones to smartphones

Next up was new Volvo Cars CEO, Jim Rowan. Formerly of Dyson and BlackBerry, he likened the current state of play in the automotive industry to that of the telecoms industry as it moved from feature phones to smartphones.

“The smartphone enriched that product to a level that no one had really envisaged, and how much more that became a part of everyday life was transformational,” he said.

“The same thing is going to happen in the auto industry, or in the next generation mobility industry as I prefer to call it. What we’ll be able to do with next gen mobility is going to be tremendously different from what we currently do with cars.

“I think you’ll see great technology being used across every car going forward. We’re actually seeing that right now, and that’s only going to accelerate.

“Remember, the next generation that we need to bring into the car market is Gen Z, digital natives born into a digital world. They expect connectivity, they expect services to be available seamlessly between their car, home and phone. It’s not a wow factor to them.”

Connected and automated mobility

There followed a panel discussion on “Revolutionising the in-vehicle experience and turning it into a recurring revenue stream”, with TJ Fox, Senior Vice President of Industrial IoT and Automotive at Verizon Business, Gianmarco Brunetti, Head of Commercial Transformation at Jaguar Land Rover, and recent Cars of the Future interviewee, Inma Martinez, from the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI).

Fox focused on the infrastructure – network quality and reliability across all use cases, especially for “mission critical” applications.

“Vehicles will be constantly updated to continually get better than they were the day they came off the production line, and 5G will be underpinning that moving forward,” he said.

While Brunetti focused on the customer experiences. “I expect that in the future we will be mainly focusing on two things,” he said.

“First, how we can be of more service to the customer, how we can make their day-to-day experience better; and second, how can we leverage technology to make our operations better and more efficient.”

Martinez set out GPAI’s aim, as a partnership of 25 OECD nations, to ensure that artificial intelligence becomes “a tool for good, and progress and welfare”.

Inma Martinez of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI)

“At the moment, data is basically just for safety,” she said. “In the very near future, it will be used to make cars really smart – evolving, self-learning AI – gathering data from the exterior to create situational awareness.

“Safety was always the biggest goal that governments imposed on the sector, now it is CO2 emissions, but traditionally it was safety. The auto industry is very close to the space and the aerospace industries – the aim is zero errors, pure perfection.”

It was a great start to the event, and we look forward to the headline act tomorrow evening, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed for a live hour-long interview.

Indy Autonomous Challenge winner PoliMOVE sets new self-driving world speed record at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Video: 192mph PoliMOVE car rockets to self-driving world speed record

On 27 April 2022, the PoliMOVE car, developed by The Politecnico university in Milan, set a new world speed record for a self-driving vehicle, an impressive 192.2mph (309.3kph).

Self-driving record on Space Shuttle airstrip

The feat was achieved on the famous Space Shuttle landing runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Fastest self-driving car April 2022 – PoliMOVE – via Indy Autonomous Challenge

As is customary for such attempts, the new mark was the average speed achieved across two consecutive 1km runs in opposite directions, to mitigate the effects of any tailwind.

The previous day, PoliMOVE had beaten the previous record of 175.49mph (282.42kph), held by Roborace, but the team were confident they could go faster.

Especially pleasing for metric fans, the new record time meant breaking the 300kph barrier for the first time.

Indy Autonomous Challenge winner

The Politecnico team were invited to use the iconic Space Shuttle straight following their hard-won victory at the Indy Autonomous Challenge in January.

The PoliMOVE self-driving racecar won the Indy Autonomous Challenge in January 2022

There, PoliMOVE reached 172.9mph (278.4kph) at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, beating teams from six other universities to claim the $150k top prize.

To ensure an even playing field, all Indy Autonomous Challenge teams used the same model racecar – a Dallara AV-21 – with each adding their own software.

TUM Autonomous Motorsport from the Technische Universität in Munich, Germany, took second place, winning $50k.

PoliMOVE and TUM self-driving cars battling at the Indy Autonomous Challenge in January 2022

Official comment

Professor Sergio Savaresi, team leader for Politecnico di Milano, commented: “We saw what the future holds for autonomous vehicles and credit goes to the entire PoliMOVE team, especially Dr Brandon Dixon.

“We were running a car operating on algorithms alone, where precision is paramount, and any small prediction error could have created a completely different outcome.

“This test run was exhilarating, and we are thrilled with the world record, but we’re also excited by the fact that this data will be made available to all, and the industry will benefit from our work.”

Politecnico di Milano specialises in engineering and industrial design, with many courses taught in English.

The Politecnico research group, led by Prof. Savaresi, has been studying automatic controls on everything from electric bicycles to tractors for over 20 years.

PoliMOVE self-driving car at Atlanta Atlanta Motor Speedway, May 2022 — PoliMOVE self-driving car at Atlanta Motor Speedway, May 2022

This week, the PoliMOVE team moved on to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for further high-speed testing… this time involving turning! We await the results with interest.