“We are working on the entire chain for autonomous driving,” Dr. Oliver Fochler said as he drove the test vehicle around the track in Hannover, Germany. He talked about the software, sensors, actuators, what will the cars of tomorrow look like, what will autonomous cars need.
We are going around the track, time after time, each time Dr. Fochler is introducing me to another technology each time we go around, another emergency situation.
It’s those What if situations; what if you have a heart attacK? It’s one of the biggest questions I get, what happens if I, the driver, can’t take over the wheel, what will the car do?
Dr. Fochler answers those questions with some quick turns on the track. Not only will you have an audio warning, but you will also have color warnings, anything from purple for standby to blue for automated to red for stopping.
Dr. Fochler explains what is going on while we are in the car, and what sensors and radars are being used and what you have to do in order to take the vehicle back over again.
The second video is when Dr. Fochler talks about the parts of the technology that Continental is providing. There is a full chain of technology that Continental provides for SAE Level 3. This technology is for on the road, when there is a technical failure or the driver cannot take over. It does not include exiting or entering highway ramps.
“The ability to perform a minimum risk maneuver is extremely important for automated driving, as we want to ensure safe driving under all circumstances,” Ibro Muharemovic, Head of the Cruising Chauffeur project at Continental. The Cruising Chauffeur function gives vehicles the ability to take over the driving task on highways in accordance with the national traffic regulations. They have thought of every instance of safety, including what to do if the car, or driver, can’t take over and there is no shoulder to pull over.
Continental says that human error still accounts for more than 90 percent of all road accidents. This technology should be on the road by 2020, and it is an important factor to achieve Vision Zero – the goal of road traffic without fatalities, injuries or accidents.
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