Self-driving cars (global market)

How an unmanned vehicle works

Main article: Autopilot (self-driving car)

Self-driving cars in Russia

Main article: Self-driving cars in Russia

Since 2015, companies in Russia have been actively developing the technologies necessary to create unmanned vehicles.

Self-driving trucks

Main article: Self-driving trucks

5G in car evolution

Self-driving vehicles are another area whose implementation will require new generation communication networks. Cars can be equipped with sensors that read all kinds of information about the road situation: nearby vehicles, weather conditions, asphalt condition, road signs, etc. Based on this data, the travel can be controlled automatically.

• Vehicle-to-Everytning (V2X) 5G in car evolution
• 5G (fifth generation mobile)

Automobiles (Global Market)

Main Article: Automobiles (Global Market)

Manufacturer News and Models

In Russia

• Yandex.Taxi Unmanned vehicle
• KamAZ unmanned vehicle
• KamAZ-1221 Shuttle Unmanned bus
• C-Pilot and Cognitive Agro Pilot Automatic Driving System
• Auriga Video Markup and Data Streaming Tool for Machine Learning
• MatrЁshka
• Traft Truck Project Self-driving truck
• Argo AI

In the world

• Tesla Motors - Tesla Model
• Waymo
• Otto
• Honda Autopilot, Honda + SenseTime * Volvo Group
• Volkswagen Sedric
• Toyota Safety Sense, Toyota e-Palette
• Bosch Onboard computer with artificial intelligence
• Nvidia AI Traffic Jam Pilot, Nvidia Drive AI platform for self-driving cars
• Harman International = Samsung Electronics
• Ford Autonomous Vehicles
• Ford Transit Connect Language of Visual Communication for Self-Driving Cars
• Ford Fusion Hybrid Self-driving car with hybrid drive
• Ford Wrong Way Alert
• Mitsubishi Electric Autonomous Driving Technology
• Renault Autopilot
• CARLA Simulator Self-driving car training
• Alphabus
• LG LTE V2X (communications for self-driving cars)
• Drvline (platform for unmanned vehicles)
• Apollo (self-driving car platform)
• Cisco Software Defined Vehicle, SDV + Hyundai Motor Company
• ZF ProAI
• General Motors Robotaxi
• Renesas R-Car H Protection of Connected Cars
• Continental Autonomous Driving Systems
• Navya Arma Unmanned Bus
• Cruise

Market estimates

2021: Global Self-Driving Car Market Valued at 20.3 Million

At the end of 2021, the global market for unmanned vehicles for the year is estimated at 20.3 million units. Such data in mid-February 2022 was published by ResearchAndMarkets.

Rising demand for safety and driving assistance systems, analysts at ResearchAndMarkets said, will boost the self-driving car market in the coming years.

The self-driving car market is dominated by global players such as:

• General Motors (USA);
• Ford (USA);
• Daimler (Germany);
• Volkswagen (Germany);
• Toyota (Japan);
• Waymo (USA).

Major OEMs such as Toyota and Honda are actively launching vehicles with features such as blind spot detection, rear cross traffic warning, lane-keeping assistance, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking as standard. Manufacturers Cadillac, Tesla, Nissan, Honda and Audi are developing L3-level driving systems for their future self-driving models. The growing demand for sophisticated cruise control and driving comfort features is also impacting the growth of the self-driving car safety systems market.

Converting a vehicle to a self-driving vehicle can help reduce the number of mistakes made by drivers. The total number of U.S. road traffic fatalities in 2020 was 38,680, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said. Self-driving cars can play a crucial role in reducing that number and enabling safe, efficient driving. Active safety systems such as blind spot detection (BSD), automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane departure warning (LDW) play an important role in modern automated driving technologies.

Demand for luxury cars is also adding to the demand for self-driving cars. Higher growth rates are seen in developing countries such as China and India. German car brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW Group and Audi dominate the global luxury car market. The change in consumer preferences increased demand for better products, which had a positive impact on premium car sales around the world. Safety innovation is being pioneered in the luxury and premium car segments, and this sales growth, according to ResearchAndMarkets, will drive the self-driving car market.

Asia Pacific will play an important role in the self-driving car market over the next few years. Leading automakers in the region such as Toyota, Honda and Hyundai are taking advantage of safety systems, making basic safety features the standard for their models. Strict regulations imposed on vehicles for safety also affect market growth in this region.

Market Growth Drivers:

• Strict vehicle safety rules;
• Growing demand for safety and driving comfort features;
• Rising demand for luxury cars;
• Introduction of artificial intelligence camera systems for autopilot applications;
• Development of self-managed modular systems that allow OEMs to independently choose the technology;
• Technological advances;
• Growth of connected vehicle technologies and dynamic mobility applications.

Factors limiting growth:

• Lack of necessary infrastructure in developing countries;
• Weak adoption of self-driving cars by consumers;
• High cost of systems and components;
• Environmental and Safety Hazards;
• The challenge of maintaining a balance between cost and quality;
• The problem of efficient real-time image processing in multi-chamber systems;
• The problem of creating and supporting maps for self-driving cars.^[1]

2020: KPMG study "Index of countries' readiness to use autonomous transport - 2020"

KPMG presented in August 2020 the third issue of the study of countries' readiness for the emergence and implementation of autonomous driving technologies. In 2020, the assessment was carried out in 30 countries. Denmark, Taiwan, Belgium, Italy and Chile were included in the study for the first time.

According to the results of the new Index, the governments of the countries continued to actively work to improve the legislative framework and investment environment necessary to accelerate the development and implementation of autonomous driving technologies. In addition, states have begun to interact more intensively with automakers and technology companies.

Among the key factors determining the development of autonomous transport, KPMG highlights security, data privacy, digital infrastructure, consequences for the transport system and international travel and transportation.

This year, Russia took 26th place out of 30 in the Index (in 2019, our country took 22nd place out of 25). Given the strong interest of the state and private companies in introducing unmanned technologies and expanding testing zones for unmanned vehicles, Russia is still lagging behind in terms of access to the latest technologies from other countries in the rating.

In the 2020 Index, you will be able to learn about key issues such as:

• the necessary conditions for the development of autonomous transport: ensuring road safety and data privacy, the formation of digital infrastructure and the development of transport systems, coordination and regulation of international travel and transportation;
• Country analytics: a description of key results, key government regulatory measures and business initiatives with comments from experts on autonomous transport development from KPMG regional offices in each of the 30 countries;
• "Smart" cities for "smart" machines: five cities in the world that are changing our idea of ​ ​ mobility;
• dissemination of new forms of mobility: useful information and practical recommendations for government bodies.

2019

Gartner calculated the number of unmanned vehicles in 2018 and 2019.

In mid-November 2019, Gartner calculated how many self-driving cars appeared in 2018 and 2019. It turned out that in 2018 the total number of new self-driving vehicles was 137,129 units, and in 2019 - 332,932 units.

According to analysts, by 2023 the number of self-driving cars will reach 745,705 units. Basically, the increase will be noted in North America, Western Europe and China, as the countries of these regions will be the first to introduce self-driving rules.

The analysis included all vehicles equipped with autonomous driving equipment, regardless of the number of copies sold. Gartner calls a vehicle capable of offering level 3 and higher automation unmanned. Thus, the experts' forecast covers unmanned vehicles with equipment capable of operating without human control.

There are no self-driving cars outside the research and development stage on the roads of the world now, "explained Jonathan Davenport, chief analyst at Gartner. - Vehicles with some autonomous capabilities have already been introduced, however they still rely on human driver control. However, many of these vehicles use hardware, including cameras, radars and, in some cases, lidar sensors, which are capable of supporting fully autonomous driving. With a software update, these vehicles could become fully self-driving in the future.

While the forecast promises a rapid increase in the number of autonomous vehicles, in fact, sales of self-driving cars are still extremely low. The number of self-driving vehicles is expected to reach 325,682 in 2020, but the commercial segment will employ just 10,590 of them. The fact is that by November 2019, no country in the world has adopted regulations that allow the legal operation of autonomous vehicles ready for production. Manufacturers are not ready to invest in the development of models that cannot enter the market in the foreseeable future.

Another limiting factor is the cost of sensor equipment. By 2026, the cost of sensors needed to enable autonomous driving will be 25% lower than in 2020. But even with such a decrease, the price will remain prohibitive. That means autonomous features will only be available for premium cars and vehicles owned by large fleets over the next decade.

In addition, the entry of unmanned vehicles into the market will be determined by public opinion. Safety concerns have so far significantly hindered the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles. Currently, self-driving car perception algorithms are still less effective than the attention of an ordinary human driver.

Tech companies are using different AI-based software to understand how self-driving vehicles will handle different situations. Autonomous vehicle safety assessment tools have yet to be developed. At the same time, as experts note, an unmanned vehicle should be slightly better than a human driver. The public will only be able to trust these innovations if self-driving cars cause far fewer accidents than humans.^[2]

Unmanned taxis will drop travel prices by 80%

Taxi rides can fall in price by 80% after the appearance of unmanned vehicles used to transport passengers. This is stated in a study that analysts at UBS Bank (SWS, United Business Systems) released at the end of May 2019

Experts believe that robomobili will make taxi fares cheaper than metro tickets, but technological taxi companies will remain profitable.

The utilization rate of a fleet of unmanned taxis during a 24-hour shift will reach about 50%. That's twice as high as Uber and Lyft usage rates today... We remain confident that the business model of unmanned taxis works both financially and technologically, UBS points out.

According to experts, by 2030 the volume of the unmanned taxi market will exceed $2 trillion. This includes revenues from the production of cars and tires, revenues from the construction of charging stations for electric cars and electricity sales, as well as from the supply of chips required by such vehicles.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs expects the market for mobile taxi ordering services such as Uber and Lyft to grow eightfold by 2030 and measure $285 billion. In 2019, such services account for a third of the total global taxi market, then by 2030 they will surpass traditional taxi services by 5 times.

From the UBS report it follows that by 2025 a quarter of sales in the car market will be electric vehicles. Approximately 12 million (8-10%) will be involved in car sharing, unmanned taxis will account for 2 million units of vehicles. This trend will push users to reconsider the principles of car operation - already in 2019, many people do not want to buy a personal car, preferring to use online taxi services, car sharing and rental of bicycles and electric scooters.^[3]

Russia lost 4 places in the ranking of countries with the greatest readiness for unmanned vehicles

On February 25, 2019, the consulting company KPMG published the results of a study in which it assessed the readiness of countries to use self-driving cars. Russia ranked 22nd in the ranking against 18th in 2017. A total of 25 countries were considered.

When compiling the report, analysts assessed the policy and legislation in the field of self-driving machines in the country, the level of their adoption by consumers, the availability of technologies and innovations, as well as the development of the relevant infrastructure.

Russia is on the last line in terms of access to the latest technologies and took the penultimate place in terms of road quality. In addition, experts pointed to the lag of the Russian Federation in terms of the level of technology support by regulators, coverage of the LTE network and partnerships between automakers and technology suppliers. At the same time, Russia was in the five countries whose population is as ready as possible to transfer to robomobili.

The study separately noted the tests of the Yandex drone after snowfall  in Moscow, as well as the launch of a test unmanned taxi service  in Innopolis. In addition, KPMG draws attention to the initiative of NTI "Autonet" to amend the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic to legally equate autopilot systems with a driver, as well as a state experiment to test drones on Russian roads.

Singapore leads the ranking in terms of consumer acceptance of autonomous transport, as self-driving cars have been tested throughout the country for several years. Residents of India, Mexico and Russia, according to the survey, are most approving of the idea of ​ ​ using autonomous transport, but the British do not consider this possibility at all.^[4]

2018

Frost & Sullivan Study

RVC, together with the consulting company Frost & Sullivan, has prepared a report on the prospects for the development of the unmanned vehicle market. The study was commissioned by the organizers of the Up Great technology competitions, which started in Russia as part of the National Technology Initiative. One of the contests of the Up Great line - "Winter City" - is aimed at developing an unmanned vehicle for operation in extreme climatic conditions^[5].

The main players in the self-driving car market at the moment are leading automakers: Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Audi. Ford and BMW Group plan to release the first drones by 2021. Plans for the creation of unmanned vehicles were also announced by Toyota, Uber (together with Volvo), Gett (with Volkswagen Group), etc.

Frost & Sullivan predicts that mass commercialization by manufacturers of such solutions will begin after 2025. By this time, the volume of sales of autonomous cars will exceed 40% of the global passenger car market. The market for unmanned vehicles will increase from the current $1.3 to $84 billion, sales of autonomous cars in absolute values ​ ​ will reach 36 million units. Given the significant amount of investment, no more than three to four major players will remain in the market in the future, providing a full range of automated solutions.

The key to the development of self-driving cars of the future will be the requirement for real-time data processing. The use of artificial intelligence in this area could be a significant step forward in breaking the barrier between semi-automatic and fully automated cars. According to the forecast, by 2020, automakers will be able to create a connected ecosystem in which the vehicle will independently learn using cloud data storage, and will receive new opportunities through updates available for download wirelessly. The development of such an ecosystem is carried out by global technology giants: IBM, Intel, Cisco, Google, Amazon and Nokia.

The development of high-automation vehicles will be facilitated by the active introduction of autonomous taxis and the increase in the use of business mobility models in the transport system of large metropolitan areas (English shared mobility). However, the launch of high-level driving automation technologies will occur primarily in the markets of developed countries in parallel with major changes in the legislative framework, which will open up the possibility of using such systems on public roads.

According to experts, the prospects for the development of the autonomous car market in Russia will depend on several factors.

PwC study

By 2040, a completely unmanned transport infrastructure will be created in large cities, that is, all vehicles will move without drivers, the need for which will disappear, RBC^[6].

This forecast is given by the audit company PricewaterhouseCoopers. According to their estimates, the first such cars will appear on the roads in 3 years, in 2021. But their autonomy will be incomplete, the driver will have to control the driving process in some cases. After another decade, in the 2030s, vehicles will no longer need a person.

And by 2040, the transport system of cities will be completely unmanned, that is, autonomous. At the same time, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, all cars will become electric vehicles, which will have a positive effect on the environment.

2017

Json & Partners study

When making forecasts, the estimates of such companies as JP Morgan, BI Intelligence, Statista, PWC, HIS, BCG, GSMA, Navigant research, Continental AG, McKinsey, Lux Research, P&C, McKinsey and others were taken into account.

The self-driving car sales market (hereinafter referred to as SA) will grow from 330 thousand cars in 2017 to 30.4 million cars per year by 2035. The market will receive the main growth starting in 2025, when large automakers, and especially Chinese ones, will begin to massively launch autonomous class 3 * cars. Until 2020, Tesla autonomous cars will be the dominant brand in the market. In value terms, annual sales of self-driving cars will grow from $13.65 billion in 2017 to $364.8 billion by 2035.

In the regional structure, the bulk of self-driving cars will be sold in China, the United States and European countries. So, by 2035, the share of sales in China can be up to 33% of all global sales. This is due to the stimulation of the authorities of the transition of Chinese vehicles to electric traction and a high interest in autonomous technologies among the population. The second market for SA will be the United States with 26% in sales and Europe with 21% of sales in third place.

Key findings of the study

Autonomous driving is rated by the tech sector as a "big new thing" after the smartphone, which is designed to solve many problems of modern manual driving, the main one being driving safety. A huge ecosystem of dozens of different types of companies is being formed around self-driving cars, which will create a multi-billion dollar market for the already familiar movement in personal vehicles.

Autonomous driving class 3 and even class 4 * ^[7]. promises to become a reality in 2020-2021. Most foreign automakers and technology companies conduct work, field tests and declared their intentions for this period. Russia has not presented anything practically significant, except for several exhibition samples and statements by government officials about the need to achieve 3% of the global market share, which has not yet been supported by any plans for the production of companies.

In the early years, self-driving cars will be available for use in limited settings and in limited geographic markets, predominantly in well-" digitalized "metropolitan areas, as machine intelligence capabilities are still limited by certain conditions.

Mass self-driving cars could face serious regulatory legal barriers in some countries that could push the spread of autonomous driving back up to 2-3 years after the technology is actually ready. In addition, implementation will restrain a number of technological, legal, information and consumer risks. The main markets for accelerated adoption of autonomous driving will be the United States, China and Europe. Russia did not present a clear vision of this area except for individual statements and the creation of working groups within the framework of state programs.

Autonomous driving will have a serious impact on the economies of cities and countries. This impact will be both positive (for example, a decrease in traffic jams and traffic congestion) and negative (a decrease in employment in the transportation market, a decrease in the tax base, etc.). Some countries with high unemployment (like India) have already announced a ban on autonomous driving in order to preserve jobs in transport.

Autonomous transport will require high-speed connection to mobile networks and generate incredible amounts of data traffic. Modern telecommunications infrastructure needs to be modernized. The introduction of such technologies may not be possible in Russia in the foreseeable future.

Russian developments in the field of autonomous movement are represented by only a few prototypes and software (for example, Constructive Technologies). Russia is significantly behind the development of innovation and the introduction of autonomous driving technologies from countries such as the United States and China, which have concentrated huge resources in this new area.

Intel and Strategy Analytics Research

Intel and analyst Strategy Analytics presented a forecast study in early 2017 regarding the future of autopilot vehicles^[8]. According to the researchers, in the very near future, drivers around the world will begin to switch to self-propelled cars. And this simple fact will create one of the biggest economic opportunities of the 21st century, the so-called "Passenger Economy," which will reach $7 trillion in 2050^[9].

Researchers believe that autopilot in cars will annually reduce by 250 million hours the presence of people on the road only during trips to work and back in the most densely populated cities of the world, which will create new economic opportunities. Intel believes that the annual volume of the global market for self-propelled cars in 2035 will amount to $800 billion, after which explosive growth will begin, which will lead to a figure of 7 trillion by 2050.

Intel notes that this will result in huge changes in society akin to what happened with the advent of personal computers, the Internet, ubiquitous communications and smartphones. Therefore, modern enterprises wishing to simply survive in the new conditions need to develop a business strategy in the new "Passenger Economy."

For example, people will have a lot of additional time, the level of stress will decrease, new career opportunities will appear, the demand for parking will significantly decrease, which will free up space in cities for some other services. In the future, with people moving from driving to driving, the most important device generating mobile data will be cars. Autonomous machines and technologies of "smart cities" will gradually change entire industries, give rise to the emergence of new industries.

The largest potential market in the $7 trillion new "Passenger Economy" will be "consumer mobility-as-a-service (CMaaS)," which is estimated at $3.7 trillion. CMaaS will primarily develop in highly urbanized areas, where a third of the world's population will live in the middle of the century (an increase in suburbanization is also expected).

We are talking, for example, about providing consumers with transport services through various services for exchanging or renting cars (a new generation taxi), since private car ownership will be a thing of the past. Automakers will primarily supply cars in bulk for such services, as well as compete for the provision of services within cars. Researchers believe that mobile restaurants, beauty salons, motels, shops, cinemas, medical mini-clinics will appear - all this and much more can be provided in special autonomous cars.

Cars will run on popular routes to respond to calls faster, rental services will be provided by a variety of companies, from specialized in this area to simply large enterprises or hotels. In addition, new social relations will imply blurring and even disappearing the boundaries between people's privacy and work, so that people will increasingly work directly in the car while traveling to the right point.

Similar services for enterprises (Business to Business mobility-as-a-service, B2BMaaS), which will replace today's freight and freight services, are estimated at $3 trillion in 2050. Another $200 billion of the $7 trillion mentioned will be generated by new applications and services. However, this figure is very difficult to predict, given the scale of potential changes and inventions.

Another study forecast is an overall increase in road safety. The transition to autonomous machines in only 10 years between 2035 and 2045 will save half a million lives around the world (not counting non-lethal injuries), and during this decade there will be a saving of 234 billion, which would otherwise be spent on public safety. By the way, in the United States alone, the transition to autonomous transport and the refusal of auto ownership will allow people to save $900 billion in favor of other services.

Japan will spend $25 billion on drones

Seven leading car manufacturers will take part in the development program for unmanned vehicles and eco-friendly cars. Most of the investment, $13.4 billion, will be taken over by the Japanese automaker Toyota.

This will be the largest investment in the development of unmanned vehicles in recent years, reports in May 2017, the Japanese television company NHK^[10][11].

Honda Corporation also announced plans to participate in the program for the production of unmanned vehicles, which is going to invest $6.7 billion in production. In addition, Honda announced plans to cooperate in this area with Google. Another Japanese automaker, Subaru, plans to invest $1.2 billion in development.

AT Kearney and Berg Insight Forecast

According to a study by AT Kearney, in 20 years the market for autonomous driving technologies will amount to $560 billion. The peak of technology development will be in 2020-2030. Berg Insight analysts predict that the first self-driving cars on public roads will appear in 2020. Their number at this time will be about 200 thousand units. The cost of the first models is unlikely to be below $100 thousand.

BCG Forecast: Unmanned Vehicles Market Size Could Reach $42 Billion by 2026

According to forecasts of the beginning of 2017, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), by 2026 the total volume of the unmanned vehicle market could be about $42 billion. The share of self-driving cars in the total structure of global sales is expected to reach 12-13%. In other words, about 14 million unmanned vehicles will be launched on the market. 500 thousand of them will be completely autonomous. McKinsey Global Institute is even more optimistic in its forecasts, believing that the total share of unmanned vehicles (both fully autonomous and semi-autonomous) will reach 15-20% of^[12] by 2025^[13].

According to some estimates, in just a few decades, unmanned vehicles will allow humanity to save about $1 trillion. and reduce the number of fatal accidents by 70%. Automation already allows you to significantly reduce accidents. For example, the automaker Audi in 2016 said that thanks to the use of an emergency braking system in cars, the total number of passenger injuries over the past 5 years has decreased by almost 38%.

Among the companies that are now actively engaged in the development of unmanned vehicles, such large automakers as Volkswagen, General Motors (GM), Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Audi, BMW Group, etc. It is also worth noting the active involvement of Google and Apple in this process.

World Market News

2024: New York City authorities ban driverless self-driving cars in cabin after series of road accidents

At the end of March 2024, the New York administration announced new rules for the operation of unmanned vehicles in the city. It is forbidden to test such cars without a driver who is ready to take control at any time. Read more here.

2023

Geely has started selling an electric car capable of driving around cities without a driver

At the end of October 2023, Geely and Baidu officially launched the 01 Robocar futuristic robotic car as part of their Ji Yue joint venture. This car, endowed with an advanced autopilot system, is capable of moving around cities without a driver. Read more here.

First verdict handed down in case of fatal collision with pedestrian by self-driving car

On July 28, 2023, the Maricopa County Prosecutor's Office in Arizona announced the sentencing in the case of the fatal collision of a self-driving car on a pedestrian. Read more here.

Trucks without drivers began to drive on public roads in China

In mid-June 2023, TuSimple, which develops autonomous trucks, launched unmanned tractors on public roads. It is noteworthy that in the cabins of cars drivers for safety net were absent in principle. The company says that this is the first test of this kind in the Celestial Empire. Read more here.

San Francisco robotaxis removed from downtown as they cause problems

At the end of January 2023, it became known that unmanned taxis in San Francisco are causing confusion in the work of emergency city services. Waymo and Cruise cars regularly stop in the middle of a street or intersection for no reason, blocking traffic on them, which generally creates chaos on the roads, especially during peak hours. As a result, it was decided to remove robomobiles from the city center.

Firefighters were battling a major house fire at the intersection of Hayes and Divisadero Streets in the early hours of January 22, 2023, when a driverless vehicle from Cruise began making its way to the scene. Two firefighters stood in front of the vehicle to prevent it from hitting hoses used to fight the growing blaze, but it did not help. As the vehicle continued to move forward, one of the firefighters took swift action and smashed the front window of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to stop. First responders contacted the company, which sent workers to get the vehicle out of the way.

According to The San Francisco Standard, San Francisco city officials are concerned about how drones interact with emergency vehicles. In April 2022, a Cruise autonomous car stopped in the lane and created an obstacle for the San Francisco Fire Department car that was driving to the call. In December 2022, the drone ran into a fire hose and stopped, according to American traffic rules for January 2023, this absolutely cannot be done. Other examples include an incident in which five self-driving cars stopped around a bus in the Mission district, blocking its traffic. On another occasion, a Cruise car narrowly missed a light rail transport car in Cole Valley when it stopped on the tracks.

In letters sent to the CPUC, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) said the uncontrolled development of robotaxi services from Waymo and Cruise could lead to additional barriers for travelers and rescuers in the city. Among other reasons, San Francisco officials cited a lack of transparency from robotaxi suppliers and inadequate incident reporting as reasons to slow their expansion.

As possible remedial measures, representatives of the transport industry proposed the gradual deployment of the robotaxi fleet and the adoption of additional rules to solve problems that arose after their initial appearance on the streets of the city. Even if authorities sound the alarm, local transport groups do not have the right to restrict the deployment of robotaxis, since their activities are mainly regulated by state bodies. The Department of Motor Vehicles allows self-driving car companies to operate their vehicles on public streets, while the CPUC regulates services carrying passengers. That partly explains why San Francisco transportation officials took the unusual step of contacting federal authorities directly with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).^[14]

2022

$194 billion invested in unmanned vehicles projects in the world over the year, but the market has many problems

At the end of 2022, various projects in the field of unmanned vehicles attracted financial support on a global scale in the amount of $194 billion. For comparison, in 2018, investments in this area were approximately half as much - $98 billion. This is stated in the McKinsey report, submitted in mid-July 2023.

Analysts note that the transport industry is developing in several key areas. These are autopilot tools, electrification, transport-sharing platforms and air taxi. It is estimated that by 2035, autonomous driving technologies will bring revenues of up to $400 billion: the emergence of robotaxis and shuttles can radically change the market and dramatically increase business profitability. At the same time, the segment of shared transport is actively expanding: this is due to the emergence of new technologies and a wide range of models, including joint taxi trips, car sharing, rental of electric scooters and electric scooters. Investments in air taxi are growing almost exponentially: as of June 2021, $8 billion has been invested in this segment.

The number of announcements on the search for employees in the field of mobility technologies in 2022 increased by 15% compared to 2021. At the same time, the market faces a shortage of specialists with key skills in working with software and electrical equipment.

At the same time, McKinsey analysts highlight a number of problems that have a negative impact on the industry. These are, in particular, safety and responsibility issues related to the operation of unmanned vehicles. Against the background of electrification, the need for batteries is growing rapidly, the production of which requires the construction of additional plants. And this requires access to energy resources and raw materials. In addition, changes in regulatory standards are required, including in the field of air transport.^[15]

Buses without drivers allowed on South Korea's public roads

On December 27, 2022, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea announced the start of operation of the country's first unmanned buses. During the three-month pilot project, you can make a trip by such a car for free.

Robotic buses will start running on a 22.4-kilometer route that links Sejong Intercity Bus Station and Oson Station in Cheongju (Chungcheong-Pukto Province). Unmanned vehicles will be assigned a separate route number, but they will carry passengers along with regular city buses. Initially, it is planned to use only two autonomous buses: daily from Monday to Friday they will make six round-trip flights from noon to 16:00. There are eight stops on the route.

Anyone can use the autonomous bus before submitting an application: for this it will be enough to scan the QR code posted at some stops. During trips driving robotic cars, there will be a driver for safety net, and a security officer in the cabin. After the end of the test period, trips on such buses will become paid.

It is noted that for the first time self-driving public transport will go to the usual roads of South Korea. Based on data on the number of applications made through QR codes, the authorities expect to assess the popularity of robotic buses among passengers. If there is sufficient demand, additional cars can be brought to the route. Overall, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has set a goal of commercialising fully autonomous bus services by 2025 as part of the Innovative Mobility Roadmap program^[16]

In China, officially opened routes for unmanned vehicles

On November 7, 2022, the first batch of expressways for autonomous driving was officially opened in China. Read more here.

Baidu was the first in China to receive a license for commercial taxi transportation without drivers

On August 8, 2022, the search engine developer Baidu said that received permission to use fully unmanned robotaxis on the open roads of two Chinese cities, making it the first such company with a license for autonomous transport in. PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Read more. here

Chinese test urban autopilot for production electric car

On July 9, 2022, it became known that Chinese the electric car manufacturer XPeng showed tests of the beta version of the advanced City NGP driver assistance system, capable drive autonomously of urban conditions. Autopilot tested on serial. XPeng P5 electric car More. here

Paid ride-hailing without drivers launched in San Francisco

In mid-June 2022, General Motors' Cruise service became the first and only one in the United States to receive permission to commercially use unmanned taxis in San Francisco. Read more here.

Hyundai launched a taxi without drivers in Seoul. The first service was tested by the mayor of the city

In mid-June 2022 Hyundai , it launched Seoul the RoboRide unmanned taxi service. For this project, the South Korean automaker provided several electric IONIQ cars 5 equipped with automatic driving systems of the fourth level, which involves the absence of the driver at the wheel. More. here

Cars without drivers drove along the streets of Miami and Austin

In May 2022, fully self-driving cars (without drivers in the cab) began driving along Austin and Miami streets in the United States. This was announced by Argo AI, which received appropriate permits from local authorities. Read more here.

John Deere to launch fully autonomous tractor in mass production

On January 12, 2022, the company John Deere introduced a fully autonomous tractor, ready for launch into mass. production The machine was created on the basis of the Deere 8R tractor and was presented with a chisel plow with a TruSet system, a system navigation GPS and current technologies. More. here

2021

Chinese DeepRoute.ai releases DeepRoute-Driver 2.0 self-driving system

AmericanaChinese startup DeepRoute.ai-, specializing in autonomous driving systems for, cars announced a solution DeepRoute-Driver 2.0 that would not require any human involvement in driving. At the same time, the system will cost very little money - about $10 thousand. In more detail. here

Announcement of steering system for unmanned vehicles

On October 11, 2021, Hyundai Mobis announced the development of Steer by Wire (SBW) folding steering system technology, which allows folding and unfolding of the steering wheel. This technology attracts attention because it is innovative and optimal for future vehicles, as it can provide more space in the driver's seat. Read more here.

Hyundai launched a service of minibuses without drivers

In mid-July 2021, Hyundai Motor launched a minibus service in South Korea without drivers. The self-driving car will move along a given route in the smart city of Sedzhon. Passengers will be able to pay for the trip through the Shucle smartphone app by choosing one of 20 stops. Subsequently, the service will be expanded to other areas. Read more here.

ISSE unmanned tractors began to be used at ports to transport cargo containers

In mid-June 2021, the ports began to use unmanned tractors from ISSE, a subsidiary of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to transport cargo containers. Read more here.

Minibuses without drivers launched in Britain

At the end of May 2021, the first British driverless minibus was launched in Cambridge. An unmanned bus travels on campus along a 3.2 km route, METRO reports. The project is being led by Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) and Smart Cambridge. Read more here.

In Germany, allowed to drive cars without drivers on public roads

At the end of May 2021, German lawmakers agreed to allow some vehicles without drivers on public roads. This will be the first step towards the introduction of self-driving in Europe.

The lower parliament Germany house passed a law allowing self-driving under certain conditions. The bill, approved on May 20, provides scenarios involving small buses and vehicles that can carry passengers and goods on predetermined routes.

This is the world's first legislative framework for self-driving as usual on public highways, "said Ulrich Lange, deputy leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's parliamentary bloc.

Germany is looking to catch up on self-driving, a technology that could reshape the transport industry but is extremely complex and costly. At the moment, the greatest successes have been achieved by Waymo and Cruise in the United States, as well as Baidu in China.

German law allows level 4 self-driving cars on public highways, that is, vehicles that do not require constant attention from the driver and can independently move under certain conditions. Outside of such places or situations, the system is able to stop driving and park the car if the driver has not taken control. According to the bill, a self-driving car must pass the necessary qualifications, which implies that the owner can turn it off in case of problems, either sitting inside the car or gaining access to it remotely.

The German government has planned the start of the project in 2022. The new legislation has yet to be approved by the upper house of parliament.^[17]

Launch of Apollo Go driver-free taxi service in China

On May 2, 2021, the official launch of China's first paid unmanned taxi service, Apollo Go, took place. Previously, it worked in test mode and was available to a limited number of users, and now everyone aged 18 to 60 can use it. Read more here.

Volkswagen begins development of chips for unmanned vehicles

In early May 2021, Volkswagen Group announced the development of its own high-performance chips for self-driving cars, as well as related software. Herbert Diess, CEO of the concern, told the German newspaper Handelsblatt about this. Read more here.

AB InBev, the largest brewing company, began using self-driving trucks

In early April 2021, it became known that the brewing company AB InBev began testing self-driving trucks from. startup Embark More. here

Announcement of M.Vision X - self-driving car with displays in windows

At the end of March 2021, Hyundai Mobis (a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor) introduced the M.Vision X self-driving car. Its distinctive characteristic is the ability to use the car's glazing as displays, as well as support for contactless communication through gestures. Read more here.

Honda Legend announcement - cars with autopilot level 3

In early March 2021, Honda was the first to sell cars with level 3 autopilot. The Legend sedan received an improved version of the Honda Sensing Driver Assistance System (ADAS) called the Honda Sensing Elite, which will be the first commercially available level 3 SAE system. Read more here.

Commercial unmanned buses began to travel on the roads of Singapore

At the end of January 2021, commercial unmanned buses first appeared in Singapore, they run on two routes - in Singapore Science Park II and on Jurong Island. During the three-month trial period, vehicles will collect data to assess the viability of service delivery as well as passenger safety, reliability and efficiency of services. Read more here.

Russia proposed to revise the Convention on Road Traffic for the development of unmanned vehicles

In February 2021,,,,, and Russia Belgium Luxembourg Portugal France Finland Switzerland Sweden proposed to the Economic and Social Council (ESA) UN to revise the Convention on Road Traffic. The changes relate to admission to public roads. self-driving cars

The convention, which standardizes traffic rules among other things, was adopted in 1968. The document actually prohibits the use of drones on the roads, Vedomosti writes.

Russia and several European countries within the framework of the ESS propose to introduce the concept of "automated driving system" into the Convention, which means the functions necessary for movement: road control, driving, planning and signaling about maneuvers.

Another amendment concerns the recognition of an automated system by the driver if the transport meets the technical and operational requirements of the states that recognized the amendments.

According to the publication in, Ministry of Transport for several years at the site of the Global Forum on Road Safety at the UN with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Transport MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Russia , amendments to the convention were being prepared to allow the operation of highly automated vehicles. By February 2021, the approved changes are being formalized, which will allow the use of unmanned vehicles on public roads, the department added.

Later, a group of experts will be created to prepare a new convention. If many parties to the convention do not support the proposed changes, it will be extremely difficult to bypass its provisions, experts interviewed by the newspaper say. For the introduction of unmanned vehicles in Russia, it is necessary to change not only international agreements, but also national legislation, lawyers add.^[18]

Mobileye expands geography of self-driving car tests to four more countries

On January 12, 2020, Mobileye, a division of Intel, announced a development strategy and technologies that, according to the company, will allow ground-based self-driving vehicles to become safer for all road users.

Automatic mapping of terrain around the world by unmanned transport means allows Mobileye to expand the geography of its tests. So, it is planned that in early 2021 unmanned vehicles will appear in Detroit,,, and Tokyo Shanghai(Paris New York in the process of obtaining permission). More. here

2020

Growth in sales of cars with autopilot of the 2nd level by 78%, to 11.2 million cars - Canalys

In 2020, 11.2 million second-level vehicles were sold autopilot worldwide, which is 78% more than in 2019. This is evidenced by the data of analysts. Canalys

A vehicle equipped with a second-level autopilot can independently keep its course in the road lane, as well as accelerate and slow down using information about the situation around the car. For this, sensors, sensors and in some cases cameras are used. The driver must keep his hands on the steering wheel of the car and not take them off.

In terms of penetration of cars with autopilot of the second level, the United States is in the lead - there such cars account for about 30% of the market. In Japan, the share is 20%, in Europe - 19%, in China and other countries combined - 12% each.

The penetration of electronic driver assistants (ADAS) and active safety systems in new cars is skyrocketing, says Canalys lead analyst Chris Jones. - Automakers used to use ADAS and second-level autopilots as hallmarks of new cars, and now they are considered mandatory features. But ADAS still has a huge opportunity, since many vehicle types popular in specific places still do not include such functionality, or this option remains niche there. These include, for example, pickup trucks in the United States, compact cars in Europe, inexpensive crossovers and urban cars in China and kei cars in Japan. When level 2 autopilot penetrates these types of machines, it will become ubiquitous, and then the buyer will have no choice but to use it.

According to experts, for the widespread use of the technology, manufacturers need to explain the capabilities of second-level autopilots, and drivers should understand that they are not driving an unmanned vehicle.^[19]

Cars without drivers began to drive on Chinese public roads

In early December 2020, it became known that, startup AutoX which previously attracted investments from, and Alibaba MediaTek Shanghai Motors, is deploying a fleet of 25 completely in the center of self-driving cars Shenzhen. China For the first time, they allowed drone tests without an insurance driver or a remote operator. More. here

Jaguar Land Rover creates a smart urban environment for testing self-driving cars

In mid-November 2020, Jaguar Land Rover announced the creation of a smart urban environment for testing self-driving cars. The automaker is implementing this project in conjunction with Future Mobility Campus Ireland (FMCI), a company specializing in the construction of sites for testing autonomous and wireless-connected vehicles. Read more here.

Panasonic backs self-driving flying electric car startup

On August 19, 2020, it became known that the The Japanese corporation Panasonic , in partnership with other Japanese and international companies, supported a project to SkyDrive Inc. create a flying one, autopiloted electric transport which in the foreseeable future should make flights a new form of urban mobility. More. here

Creating a transport corridor for self-driving cars in Michigan

In mid-August 2020, it became known that in Michigan, as part of a public-private partnership, a transport corridor is being created with a length of about 65 km, intended for autonomous vehicles. A special strip for unmanned vehicles will connect Detroit and Ann Arbor. Read more here.

Taxi service without drivers launched in China

In mid-July 2020, the Chinese startup WeRide announced the launch of an unmanned taxi service. The company has already received permission to road test smart vehicles from local authorities in Guangzhou. Read more here.

2019

California allows fully self-driving cars to deliver packages

California authorities allowed^[20] at the end of 2019 for commercial operation of fully unmanned^[21] on state roads. From mid-January 2020, companies will be able to obtain permission to test such cars with or without a driver, as well as to operate with the ability to take money for delivery^[22].

Many companies are developing not unmanned taxis for transporting people, but unmanned delivery vehicles, and they can be divided into two large types: delivery robots and small unmanned trucks. Delivery workers of the first type, as a rule, are small, designed to deliver small parcels and drive on sidewalks. The second type includes small cars driving on the roads, and capable, for example, to deliver several packages of food from a store nearby.

Full-fledged unmanned delivery cars of the second type are potentially capable of creating large profits for companies, but their development is proceeding at a slower pace, because the authorities of almost all regions do not allow cars and robots to be tested on public roads without an insurance engineer behind the wheel. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has made changes to regulations governing the testing and operation of self-driving vehicles on state public roads. Now they allow companies to legally use fully unmanned delivery vehicles on the roads.

According to the new rules, companies will be able to request permission from the department to use autonomous delivery vehicles weighing up to 4.54 tons on the roads. As examples in the department, minivens, medium-sized pickups and passenger cars of the corresponding mass were cited. At the same time, the requirements for unmanned delivery vehicles are unified with the existing requirements for passenger drones carrying passengers.

Companies will be able to ask for permits for two types of tests (with a driver driving and without a driver), as well as for commercial operation. The new rules will come into force in 30 days - January 17, 2020.

Daimler chief: Building a robotaxi business is unrealistic

In mid-November 2019, it became known that Daimler had revised its expectations for a potential business model for self-driving taxis. This was announced by the executive director of the company Ola Kaellenius.

Carmakers hurriedly started developing self-driving cars after Google unveiled a prototype of similar technology in 2012. Among other things, after the successful launch of Uber, the idea of ​ ​ a robotic taxi gained particular popularity. Daimler also entered the technology race, but as a result was forced to abandon unrealistic expectations.

According to Kellenius, the task of developing cars capable of moving around busy urban areas without the participation of a driver turned out to be more difficult than Daimler engineers expected. The costs of developing safe self-driving technologies turned out to be too great, so at this stage Daimler abandoned the idea of ​ ​ a robotic taxi.

We did not pass the test in real conditions, "Kellenius told investors in London.

A full-scale deployment of a self-driving taxi system would require serious capital investment, but the potential profit in this case is too uncertain.

According to Kellenius, self-driving technologies will not be wasted - they will most likely be used in freight cars to help freight companies on long-distance routes. Without a driver, trucks do not need to stop for a break or look for a place to stay at night, which significantly reduces the cost of cargo transportation.^[23]

Hyundai launches self-driving taxi in California

In late October 2019, Hyundai announced the launch of the BotRide self-driving taxi service in California. It will begin work on November 4 with the support of Pony.ai and Via. Read more here.

Stopping just 20% of self-driving cars during rush hour completely paralyzes traffic in the city

In the future, the number of self-driving cars will grow to 10 million, according to scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology. This became known on July 30, 2019. Scientists fear that cybercriminals will be able to paralyze urban traffic by hacking only a small part of self-driving cars. Read more here.

Unmanned bus hits pedestrian in Austria

In mid-July 2019, an accident occurred in Vienna involving an unmanned Navya SAS bus. He hit a 30-year-old girl crossing the road.

According to Bloomberg, the self-driving vehicle at the time of the collision with the pedestrian was moving at a speed of 12 km/h. The victim received minor injuries.

According to one version, the woman crossed the road, despite the sides, - she was distracted by her smartphone and was wearing headphones. It is also reported that the victim decided to run across the road in front of Navya SAS. The details of what happened were not disclosed. Police are investigating this incident.

Tests of two unmanned Navya buses in the Austrian capital have been carried out with the support of the Vienna authorities since June 6, 2019. In the cabin, in case of any emergency situations, there is always an operator with a control controller, which is a joystick from the Xbox 360 game console.

Accidents involving the Navya self-propelled bus have already happened. In November 2017, the drone could not leave at the intersection with the truck. As a result, the truck hit the bumper of the bus with the wheel. An investigation   into the causes of this incident concluded in mid-July 2019. One of them, investigators called the unsuccessful location of the bus control controller.^[24]

Earlier in July 2019, an unmanned vehicle "Yandex" violated the rules of the road during testing in Moscow. As a representative of law enforcement agencies told the Moscow agency, the robomobile crossed the stop line at a red light. In turn, the press service of Yandex explained that the traffic rules when testing an unmanned vehicle in Moscow were violated by a test driver. The company stressed that during the incident the car was in manual control mode.

Mass production of unmanned vehicles for the delivery of goods has begun. Huawei buys them

At the end of May 2019, the Chinese startup Neolix Technologies began the world's first serial production of autonomous vehicles for the delivery of goods. The company expects to sell a thousand vans worth about $30,000 during its first year of production. Read more here.

2018

Dubai self-driving taxis

On October 13, 2018, an unmanned taxi service was launched in Dubai. It began to be tested in one of the districts of the city to transport passengers from one specific point to another - for example, from a shopping center to a cinema or to the passenger's house.

Modified Mercedes-Benz E-Class cars are used for the project. They are equipped with three special cameras, a lidar and four sensors at each corner, which analyze the traffic situation and help the car drive safely through the streets. Sensors scan the road stop around the car within a radius of 400 meters and allow you to avoid accidents.

True, during testing, which will last for three months, the driver will be driving in order to take control, if necessary. In the future, it is planned to use a taxi without people driving. 

Vehicles in autopilot mode will accelerate to a maximum of 32 km/h and carry up to four passengers, the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said. People who have received special invitations will be able to take part in the tests of the technology.

According to Mattar Al Tayer, director of the Dubai Department of Roads and Transport , unmanned taxis should be a solution to the "last mile" problem, that is, they should be used to deliver people to the metro, bus stops, car parking areas car-sharing , etc.

It [unmanned taxi service] will be integrated with mass transport systems, facilitating the movement of public transport users, especially metro and trams, to their destination endpoints, he said.

Under Dubai government plans, about 25% of all transport in the emirate will be unmanned by 2030.^[25]

Self-driving buses launch in Sydney

On 26 September 2018, the Australian State Government of New South Wales announced the start of bus services on the pilotless road around Olympic Park in with the Sydney aim of transporting passengers. This is a new phase of a two-year study launched at the initiative of the government in August 2017 - previously unmanned buses were tested without passengers on the same section of the highway. More. here

Launch of the world's first unmanned taxi service

Since August 27, 2018, the world's first unmanned taxi service has been launched in Tokyo. The service was launched in test mode by the Japanese developer of autonomous transport technologies ZMP together with one of the country's leading taxi companies Hinomaru Kotsu, Nikkei reports.

Passengers can take a self-driving taxi on a fixed route of about 5.3 km between the districts of Otemati and Roppongi. So far, a minivan taxi equipped with various sensors and unmanned technologies has been making four round trips a day, Kyodo reported. To try out the innovation, the passenger needs to book and pay for the trip using a mobile application. The cost is 1,500 yen (about $13.5) for a one-way trip.^[26]

The testing, which is partly funded by Tokyo municipal authorities, will last until September 8. ZMP and Hinomaru Kotsu expect to launch a commercial service in full in 2020, when the Japanese capital will host the Summer Olympics.

It is noted that although the taxi works completely in unmanned mode and makes turns, changes in the traffic flow and stops without interference of people, the driver is driving to ensure safety, and in the cabin - also an assistant.

The first passenger to test a self-driving taxi claimed the ride was as comfortable as a regular car.

The car was so smoothly rebuilt in the stream that I almost forgot that I was going in an unmanned taxi, "Nikkei quoted the man as saying[27]

At the ceremony, Hinomaru Kotsu President Kazutaka Tomita said that the launch of the service marks an important step towards unmanned vehicles.

The company hopes that unmanned technology will help solve the problem of driver shortages in Tokyo and cope with the increased demand for taxi services during the Olympics.

Road regulator: Many will die before we can use Autopilot

On May 29, in an interview with the BBC, Mark Rosekind, the former head of the National Road Safety Service, USA said that deaths during the test phase were self-driving cars inevitable.

Unfortunately, there will be accidents. People will be injured, some of them will die, - he said in an interview with the BBC TV channel.

The vast majority of fatal accidents are due to human error, Roseynd said, and that the risks associated with releasing imperfect self-driving cars onto the road will be offset in the future by the total absence of car accidents.

According to the Association for the Safety of International Road Travel, by May 2018, almost 30 thousand people worldwide die in car accidents. This is 1.3 million deaths annually, 37 thousand of which are in the United States.

Car accidents are already one of the leading causes of death and injury worldwide, Futurism reports. Self-driving cars can help prevent some of these tragedies - one of the most compelling arguments for selling them. In order for self-driving cars to be safer than cars with drivers, they must be tested. It can be assumed that not all tests will be successful.

This, however, does not mean that you need to close your eyes to these risks. On the contrary, autonomous car companies should be responsible for their mistakes and failures, the newspaper notes.

Many drivers don't understand the difference between autopilot and autonomous mode that some cars like Tesla offer, the tests showed. Drivers need to be better informed to prevent accidents and dangerous misunderstandings.

So not all of these incidents are inevitable. Legislatures and technology companies must set clear rules and identify consequences for automakers in the event of accidents.^[28]

Launch of 300 robotaxis in Las Vegas

In early May 2018, the manufacturer of automotive components Aptiv (formerly Delphi) announced the withdrawal of 30 self-driving cars to public roads. They began driving in Las Vegas as part of Lyft's proposed ride-sharing (rideshare) service.

To gain access to robotaxis, Lyft users need to select the appropriate option in the application. Since we are talking about an experiment, the driver will be in the drones, who, in the event of a dangerous situation, will be able to take control of the vehicles.

The cost of renting an unmanned vehicle with a driver has not been announced. It is noted that such cars will be in "places of high demand," so users will not have to look for a self-propelled taxi for a long time.

True, according to the Digital Trends portal, unmanned vehicles will run only along the Las Vegas Strip - about a seven-kilometer section of Las Vegas Boulevard, which houses most of the largest hotels  and casinos in the Las Vegas agglomeration. There is no such information in the Aptiv press release.

Thanks to the autonomous control technology from Aptiv, deployed in Las Vegas and widely available through the Lyft app, a wide range of consumers will be able to share drone driving capabilities in a complex urban environment. More importantly, the knowledge and data gained will allow us to refine our self-driving capabilities and strengthen our portfolio of leading active security solutions, "said Aptiv CEO Kevin Clark.

Aptiv and Lyft have a multi-year agreement. In early 2018, the companies launched a pilot public project in which users made about 400 trips in self-driving cars on public roads. Passengers praised the ride in such taxis - 4.99 points out of 5 possible. Aptiv believes that a similar success awaits the Las Vegas experiment.^[29]

China sets rules for self-driving cars

In an effort to accelerate the development and implementation of technologies for self-driving vehicles in order to catch up with the United States in this area, the Chinese authorities on April 12, 2018 unveiled national rules for conducting tests of self-driving cars.

According to the requirements, which come into force on May 1, 2018, testing of cars must first be carried out in closed, specially designated areas, and only then road tests are allowed, which must also be pre-determined. Applicants for test races must be independent legal entities registered in the PRC, reports China Daily with reference to the Ministry information technology of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).^[30]

In addition, the rules prescribe that a qualified employee should always be in the driver's seat in unmanned vehicles, ready to immediately intercept control if necessary.

In light of the two high-profile fatal accidents involving self-driving cars that occurred in 2018 Uber , and MIIT Tesla Motors Vice Minister Xin Guobin said that road testing of self-driving cars is a difficult process in which safety should be the main priority, reports. Reuters^[31]

In order to ensure the safety of road tests, we will require that testing takes place on individual streets and that throughout the tests the driver is behind the wheel and monitors the car and the environment, ready to take control of the car in his own hands at any minute. This is a lesson that we learned from accidents with Uber and Tesla, "he stressed.

Xin Gobing also noted that China risks lagging behind competitors such as the United States if it does not seize the initiative in the development of unmanned vehicles into its own hands. The minister called success in this area a key component for the implementation of the Chinese program "Made in China 2025" (Made in China 2025).

Unmanned buses began to travel on the roads of Stockholm

At the end of January 2018, it became known that the telecommunications company Ericsson , in cooperation with the Swedish public operators transport and a number of local partners, will experience Stockholm pilotless buses on city streets. The goal of the project is to test how autonomous transport will work in real conditions, running side by side with ordinary cars, cyclists and pedestrians. More. here

Robotaxis launched in the largest US village for the elderly

 On January 10, 2018, the startup  Voyage that operates the park self-driving cars announced the launch of robotaxis in the largest USA retirement village - The Villages (located north of Orlando, Florida). More. here

2017

Unmanned buses appeared on public roads for the first time

For the first time, unmanned buses appeared on public roads. The landmark event took place on December 2, 2017 in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province.

According to China Daily, four Alphabus smart buses set off on a 1.2 km test route. They drove at speeds of 10 to 30 km/h and made three stops along the way. The whole trip took about five minutes.^[32]

Main article by Alphabus.

CARLA Simulator Self-driving car training

Researchers from, and Intel Toyota the Spanish Center for Computer Vision developed in 2017 an urban environment simulator designed to train control algorithms. self-driving cars It allows you to simulate the operation of various sensors and receive data in real time. The simulator code is published by^[33] a free license, so developers can adapt it to their needs. The researchers also studied the effectiveness of algorithms of different types using a simulator. The development was presented at the Headquarters Robot Training Conference, Google an article published on the^[34] arXiv.org^[35] about the system CARLA Simulator Self-driving car training

Renault autopilot skirting obstacles as a professional driver

French carmaker Renault has developed technology that allows autopilot cars to bypass obstacles in emergency situations at almost the same speed as professional drivers. Autopilot was tested at the end of October 2017 by a columnist for the TechCrunch portal. Read more here.

Las Vegas: Self-driving bus crash on first day of work

On November 8, 2017, the solemn launch of the Arma unmanned bus developed by the French stratap Navya took place in Las Vegas. After only a couple of hours from the beginning of operation, the electric bus-shuttle got into an accident.^[36] The accident was provoked by the truck driver: reversing, he crashed into the front wing of an unmanned bus. Read more here.

Map of world cities with self-driving cars

In October 2017, the American charitable foundation Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute presented the world's first interactive map of cities with self-driving cars. For some reason, Russian cities are not marked on it.

By the time such a map is created, it contains 53 cities in which either self-driving machines are already being tested, or the authorities are going to allow their tests.

According to this guide, pilot tests of self-driving cars are taking place in 35 cities around the world, 11 of which are in the United States. Five more cities are located in Holland, four in the UK, and three in China. Two cities each in France and Canada accept pilot tests, and in Japan, the UAE, Sweden, Singapore, Finland, Norway, South Korea and Australia, tests are held in one city in the country.

Another 18 cities are preparing for experiments with advanced autopilots or are showing strong interest in such vehicles. In particular, we are talking about Los Angeles, Nashville, Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.

The authors of the project say that the map will help the authorities of countries and cities monitor the development of unmanned vehicles in the world, the status of pilot programs and the successes achieved in certain regions.

It is strange that there are no Russian cities on the map. Earlier it became known that KamAZ is testing robomobiles in Naberezhnye Chelny and Noginsk near Moscow. In August 2017, a testing ground for unmanned vehicles and buses was opened in the Moscow Caliber Technopark. In the same month, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev instructed to develop conditions for the use of unmanned vehicles in Russia. Such a car was developed by Yandex and demonstrated to Russian President Vladimir Putin in September.^[37]

You can get acquainted with the interactive map at avsincities.bloomberg.org.

Legislative initiatives in the field of BPTS insurance

The European Parliament is already seriously working on the creation of framework insurance programs for vehicles using artificial intelligence.

In February 2017, the European Parliament decided that robotics is not regulated enough, and last Thursday adopted a resolution for the European Commission (preparing bills on the decisions of the European Parliament). According to Vedomosti, the European Parliament proposes to think about the special legal status of an electronic personality for complex robots that make independent decisions - then they can be blamed for compensation for the damage caused by them. The self-driving car sector needs regulation most urgently, according to a resolution of the European Parliament. One of the proposals of MEPs is, by analogy with auto insurance, to create a special fund from which damage would be compensated when there is no usual insurance coverage. The European Parliament called on insurance companies to develop new products consistent with the development of robotics. Auto insurance covers only human actions and errors, and the insurance system for robots must take into account all possible responsibility.

In the United States named the most reliable unmanned vehicle

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has published a report that reflects the statistics of incidents involving autonomous vehicles for 2016^[38].

According to official figures, as of January 1, 2017, 21 companies were testing self-driving cars on public roads in California. Each of them is obliged to annually provide the authorities with detailed reports on the number of abnormal situations that occurred during test races.

The statistics collected by the companies reflect both errors in the operation of the autonomous piloting system and various unforeseen circumstances that forced the engineers in the car to intercept the control of the vehicle.

The absolute record holder for the number of such incidents was Bosch. Although their self-driving fleet has just three vehicles, 1,442 incidents were reported in 2016. Given that the German company's autonomous transport only traveled 983 miles on California roads, the number of incidents per 1,000 miles of track was 1,466.9.

In second place is another manufacturer from Germany - Mercedes-Benz. The company's only self-driving vehicle tested 336 incidents. Taking into account the 673 miles traveled in 2016, the number of incidents was 499.3 per 1000 miles of track.

The third line of the anti-rating was taken by Tesla. The company's four self-driving vehicles travelled 550 miles in 2016, with 180 incidents noted. That put the number of incidents per 1,000 miles of track at 327.3.

However, not all developers of autonomous piloting systems are doing so badly. For example, Google subsidiary Waymo counted a total of 124 incidents involving its machines in 2016. Considering that the engineers of the tech giant launched 60 self-driving cars on the roads of California, which traveled a total of almost 636,000 miles, the number of incidents per 1000 miles of track was only 0.2.

The German manufacturer BMW, which has only recently begun testing autonomous vehicles, can boast of such successes. Their only self-driving car travelled 638 miles in 2016, with just one incident marked in that time.

Self-Driving Car Development Market Overview

As of February 2017, in one form or another, self-driving features - such as parking or driving on certain types of roads - are already available in some commercially available car models. However, car control systems that could be fully relied upon to replace the driver with them are still in development.

One of the most advanced companies in the field of autopilot can be called Tesla. It already sells Model S and Model X electric cars with this feature. During the trip, the system recognizes hundreds of elements: road markings and signs, traffic lights, pedestrians and other cars, and even a background lubricated while driving.

Not the first year of development in this area leads. BMW The company plans to equip all its electric models with autonomous technologies from 2021. BMW demonstrated a new generation 5-Series sedan with an autonomous control system in early 2017. Later, at the Mobile Congress in Barcelona in the same 2017, BMW showed a joint project with a Ericsson Intel car connected to a pilot network. 5G

There, the company also demonstrated a sample BMW 740-e car equipped with an autonomous driving system based on the Intel GO platform, which the company develops specifically for the auto industry, and Mobileye technologies, which previously developed an autopilot system for Tesla.

At the same exhibition, Peugeot showed a prototype car with self-driving function and connection to the cloud platform of the Internet of things Samsung Artik, which can aggregate data from a smartwatch, driver's phone and social networks. Two autonomous driving modes are available in the car - Autonomous Sharp and Autonomous Soft. The first - if you need to quickly get from one point to another, the second - for comfortable long trips in which you can watch a film or just relax.

The first drone racing car was also presented there - Robocar from Roborace, which is headed by the former Deputy Minister of Communications of Russia Denis Sverdlov. The car is equipped with five laser and two conventional radars, 18 sensors and 6 cameras.

Among the Russian developers of self-driving systems, Cognitive Technologies can be distinguished. The company is developing a C-Pilot autonomous driving system. The prototype solution was tested on the basis of a Nissan car. The company sees the Israeli Mobileye, the developer of a similar system for Tesla cars, as its main competitor. According to the results of the tests in March 2017, Olga Uskova, President of Cognitive Technologies, reported that her company's system exceeds Mobileye's results in terms of recognition.

At the Mobile Congress in 2017, Otto said that its unmanned trucks can already be found on the roads of Colorado and Phoenix. Partnering with Volvo, these trucks feature 3D cameras, roof and bumper sensors, laser radar and computer vision technology to spot pedestrians and other vehicles.

Volvo cars are also equipped with autopilots. In 2017, the company intends to start implementing the Drive Me London project, in which dozens of autonomous cars will work out traffic in large cities. In 2018, the project is planned to be expanded. 100 Great Britain cars with autopilots on board will enter public roads. The cars will be distributed among volunteers selected by a specialized team of researchers.

In December 2016, Uber taxi service already launched testing of Volvo self-driving cars in San Francisco. USA The system randomly selects users of the UberX service and assigns them an unmanned version of the Volvo XC90 car. For safety, there are two Uber employees in the car who are located in the front seats.

Bosch on connecting cars to the network and automated driving

• According to Bosch research, automation of vehicles will reduce the number of accidents by 1/3 in only one. Germany Today, the cause of 90% of road accidents is the human factor.
• Automated driving improves traffic flow by increasing the capacity of adjustable intersections by up to 80%. This reduces fuel consumption (up to 39%) and harmful environmental impact (reduction SO2 in exhaust gases - up to 400 cubic meters. tons per year).
• By 2025, approximately half of all vehicles will be equipped with infotainment systems and will be able to support smartphone features. In addition, up to 70% of new motorcycles will be equipped with network connection systems.
• Until 2025, the computing power of software for trucks will increase by almost 20 times, which will save the time and money of freight forwarding companies.
• Cloud service Bosch warns of erroneous driver actions within 10 seconds. Such network connection functions can save about 11 thousand lives until 2025.
• The service operates in 30 countries, serving in 16 languages. Its competence includes support for eCalls and data collection for technical assistance in case of accidents. In 2015, Bosch's service handled more than 120 million calls for more than 1,000 companies.
• According to the European Commission, the automatic eCall notification system will help save up to 2.5 thousand lives on European roads annually.

Bosch и Daimler

Bosch and Daimler are working together to develop a control system for a self-driving vehicle. The companies have formed an alliance aimed at developing a system for autonomous cars (SAE-level 4) and vehicles that do not require driver participation (SAE-level 5). These innovations can become a reality before the beginning of the next decade. See Bosch On-board computer with artificial intelligence for more details.

Intel paid $15 billion for self-driving car camera developer

Intel Corporation announced the purchase of Israeli Mobileye, which specializes in optical systems for self-driving cars. Americans will buy back all shares of Mobileye, the deal will be about $15 billion. The joint laboratory for the creation of equipment for self-driving cars will be located in Israel. The deal to buy Mobileye is expected to be completed within nine months.

Volkswagen Sedric - concept car with autopilot function

Volkswagen presented in March 2017 a vision of individual mobility and a comprehensive concept of mobility of the future. Its main element was the concept car, which implements the function of unmanned control. Volkswagen Sedric (from self-driving car) makes it possible to use a specific example to get acquainted with this innovative form of individual mobility, accessible to everyone and focused on personal needs and desires. The first concept car serves as a platform for working out the ideas of all Volkswagen brands and emphasizes the importance of automated car control technologies in the company's future development strategy.

Ford invests $1 billion in artificial intelligence for autonomous cars

In the period 2017-2022, Ford Motor Company will invest $1 billion in Argo AI, an artificial intelligence company, with the aim of developing a virtual autonomous car control system that the brand will bring to market by 2021, as well as the potential sale of the technology license to other companies.

Self-driving cars will help the United States save up to $340 billion a year

The use of self-driving cars, thanks to a sharp reduction in road accidents, will help save the US budget hundreds of billions of dollars. This was reported in a study conducted by Global Positioning Specialists analysts. The results of the report allow us to emphasize the potential for economic feasibility from the use of autopilot technologies in passenger transport^[39].

Experts predicted that the United States is losing more than $306 billion annually to eliminate the consequences and as a result of an accident. This is more than any other country in the world. Analysts have calculated the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), which is lost annually in all types of road disasters. Then the experts included in the report the indicators of the estimated savings achieved from the use of self-driving cars. It is estimated that unmanned vehicles can reduce up to 90% of human-caused accidents.

If all cars in the United States were self-driving, then the country's budget could retain about $340 billion from losses in GDP caused by road accidents. In addition, the number of deaths in road accidents will also decrease. Deaths on US roads in 2015 amounted to 35 thousand people (an increase compared to 2014 - + 7.2%). About a third of accidents with victims occurred due to the fault of drunk drivers, and every tenth - due to the inattention of drivers.

The report also notes that the technology of self-driving cars must be brought to the "mind," because the use of "raw" solutions is unlikely to increase the level of road safety.

China to build world's largest drone range

By 2025, leading automakers plan to bring at least 5 models with autopilots to the market.

By the end of 2017, China will have the world's largest test site for self-driving cars. The new site, according to China Daily, will be built in the city of Zhangzhou in Fujian province in the southeast of^[40].

The cost of a landfill with an area of ​ ​ 56 square kilometers is estimated at $1.4 million. A network of roads equipped with the necessary infrastructure and road signs will be created on the territory.

State-owned China Merchants Group, private Shenzhen Qianhai Frontt Capital Management and CRI Intelligent Auto Research Institute will take part in the project. Technical support for the creation of a new landfill will be provided by the University of Michigan and the MCity test center in Ann Arbor created with their help.

See also: TIS Holding, commissioned by Traft and with the support of Rosavtodor, built in Russia the first special polygone for testing unmanned trucks on the basis of the Shakhovo warehouse complex in the Moscow region. The results of tests of unmanned trucks at a special training ground ready for opening in the Moscow region will speed up the process of launching trucks with autopilot on the country's federal roads (more).

Volvo Cars and Autoliv created a company to develop autopilot software

Premium automaker Volvo Cars and automotive safety systems developer Autoliv signed an agreement in early 2017 to form a joint venture, Zenuity, that would develop software for autopilot and driver assistance systems.

Zenuity will become a participant in the emerging market software for autonomous control systems. For the first time, the premium automaker is joining forces with a leading developer of driver assistance systems and autonomous control technologies.

2016

10 of the most important developments in the world in the field of self-driving cars

The International Center for Robotics (IRC), together with the Russian Association of Artificial Intelligence (RAII), presented in December a rating of the most important events in the world in the field of unmanned vehicles for 2016.

The organizers of the study note that the main result of the study was the practical absence of bright technological achievements. The vast majority of events selected by experts are commercial results.

• The result achieved in the legislative sphere tops the rating of events. According to the organizers of the study, the key problems in the development of the entire direction of unmanned vehicles today are not associated with the possibility of creating new technologies and solutions, but with legislation. It is the main brake on the transition to unmanned systems. Therefore, the result associated with the release of recommendations by the US Department of Transportation, which allows you to really speed up the process of introducing autonomous technologies, was out of competition.
• In second place in the study is the alliance of leading manufacturers of driver assistance systems Mobileye with Delphi Automotive. Indeed, the opportunities to combine the efforts of leading manufacturers of driver assistance software systems and hardware solutions look more than encouraging and can change the balance of power in the emerging market for unmanned systems.
• In third position is the Russian company Cognitive Technologies. Its technological victory is the ability to simulate the function of the human hippocampus allows you to significantly increase the safety of an unmanned vehicle. The company's specialists are confident that thanks to this technology, they would have been able to avoid the iconic accident with a light-colored van, which hit a Tesla car. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the only scientific and practical achievement in 2016. On the other hand, "Russia has lagged behind by several years with the start of its projects in the direction of unmanned systems, so today we have the opportunity to observe and analyze the path traveled by the world's leading scientific and technological centers for the development of artificial intelligence systems for unmanned vehicles. In this sense, our country has a great chance to create better and more competitive technologies for autorobots. We can expect that their number will increase from year to year, "said the President of RAII, Doctor of Finance, Professor, Gennady Osipov.

List of the most important events in the world in the field of self-driving cars for 2016.

1. The US Department of Transportation has issued recommendations for self-driving cars. They are designed to remove conflict with local laws and speed up the adoption of technology.

2. Delphi Automotive and Mobileye Alliance to Build Full Autopilot by 2019

3. Russian company Cognitive Technologies has implemented the ability to model the function of the human hippocampus in its AI system for an unmanned vehicle

4. The first ever commercial transportation by self-driving car. Otto Group autopilot truck delivers a consignment of Budweiser beer from Fort Collins in Colorado Springs (USA)

5. Apple announces resumption of work on the creation of a self-driving car

6. First unmanned bus launched in Dubai

7. Uber launches first US self-driving taxis

8. The appearance of the first unmanned taxi in Singapore

9. Tesla autopilot crash in which driver died

10. NVIDIA showed an unmanned car capable of driving without roads

San Francisco cyclists vs. self-driving Volvo XC90s on Uber service

In late 2016, the San Francisco Cycling Coalition concluded that self-driving cars based on the Volvo XC90, which Uber Technologies tested on the streets of that city, pose a serious danger to cyclists. They revealed that cars in unmanned mode violate the current traffic rules and perform turns directly through bicycle lanes. After that, Uber began to refine the autopilot software.

Self-driving truck delivers a shipment of beer for the first time

A truck with an autopilot company Otto Group delivered a batch of Budweiser beer from the city of Fort Collins in Colorado Springs (USA), according to the Anheuser-Busch website. The unmanned ^[41] of ^[42] for the^[43]

It is noted that this is the first ever commercial transportation by unmanned vehicle.

Throughout the journey (more than 193 km), the machine was controlled by an automatic system with the support transport of the Colorado State Administration.

At the same time, the driver was also in the cab, but did not interfere with the operation of the system, watching it from the sleeping place in the back of the cab.

Otto added that with autopilot, drivers will have the opportunity to relax on the way, as required by US law, and, possibly, even take a nap. In addition, drivers will not waste time on stops, which will help speed up the delivery of goods, and the company will not need to hire a second driver for a shift.

Self-driving cars hit UK roads

Specialists from the University of Oxford - the founders of the startup Oxbotica - launched in the fall of 2016 a prototype of an unmanned car on public roads in the UK, according to TechCrunch^[44] road ^[45][46].

Engineers demonstrated their "brainchild" in August, and in the autumn its full tests began on public roads in Milton Keynes (in Greenwich they are scheduled for 2017). The car will independently move at a speed of eight kilometers per hour, a test driver will be driving, ready to intercept control at any time. The model is based on the Renault Twizy electric car.

To control it, Selenium software is used, using GPS readings, cameras and lidar. The control system can move without a signal from navigation satellites, focusing only on surrounding objects - this function is useful in a tunnel or in an underground parking lot. According to the developers, special attention was paid to moving at low speed in a difficult environment - as part of previous tests, the drone learned to ride in pedestrian zones.

The Oxbotica prototype tests are part of the LUTZ Pathfinder unmanned passenger capsule project. After successful Selenium tests on the Renault prototype, the control system is expected to be installed on 40 unmanned LUTZ capsules that will move along Milton Keynes and Coventry streets. At this stage, electric cars will be able to reach speeds of up to 24 kilometers per hour.

US fears self-driving cars will become weapons to hunt people

The ministry transport USA has issued a manual for operating self-driving cars on American roads, which should make it easier for these devices to enter the market. The guide contains a section devoted cyber security to, which consists of 15 parameters by which the information security of^[47] device is assessed^[48] become^[49]

However, according to John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit consumer advocacy organization, the guide does not establish a certain and mandatory information security standard for self-driving cars. This is its main drawback, since the United States is increasingly worried that drones will become a terrible weapon in the hands of terrorist hackers if they begin to seize control over them. On the other hand, the widespread use of such cars can completely eliminate road accidents and thus save up to 30 thousand American lives annually.

Major vulnerabilities: V2V and GPS

It is assumed that unmanned vehicles will be able to exchange information with each other and with road infrastructure facilities, that is, their systems will not be closed. The openness of the systems will make them vulnerable to hacking, as happened with Jeep Cherokee in 2015. By hacking a jeep on the Internet, the hacker intercepted the control of the car, after which the manufacturer Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was forced to patch up software for 1.4 million devices.

However, the same system of information exchange, called V2V (Eng. "Vehicle-to-vehicle" - from means to means), should protect self-driving cars, since hacking a group of coordinated means is more difficult for a hacker. This opinion is shared by Mary Cummings, director of the Humans and Autonomy laboratory at Duke University.

External Access Interface Vulnerability

Georgy Lagoda, technical director of the Russian information security company Security Monitor, claims that not only unmanned vehicles, but also traditional cars with a wireless engine access interface (for example, through the so-called ODBC port) are vulnerable to hackers. Manufacturers take the security of built-in equipment communication protocols less seriously, Lagoda said.

Lagoda notes that today at many major security conferences, both in Russia and in the United States, there are test cars to which information security experts can connect to try to find vulnerabilities. Moreover, some information security companies have already spent more than 10 thousand hours on such research and have achieved significant success in intercepting control and correcting indicators of on-board devices. Accordingly, "black" hackers can also do this.

Full Tesla Autopilot. Video

Tesla Motors released a video in October showing its car driving around the city without human input. Earlier on October 20, the head of the company, Elon Musk, announced that all cars released in the future would be equipped with a full-fledged autopilot, and promised to show the video later.

Tesla Motors' new cars will feature eight cameras, which are supposed to provide 360-degree views at distances up to 250 meters, as well as 12 advanced ultrasonic sensors that detect objects. Previously, Tesla had an autopilot that could only work with the participation of a^[50].

NVIDIA showed an unmanned car capable of driving without roads

The demonstration took place on September 28 at the GPU Technology Conference in Amsterdam. Also, one of the largest developers of graphics accelerators and processors NVIDIA Corporation showed the capabilities of the open platform Driveworks Alpha 1 for unmanned vehicles^[51].

The Driveworks Alpha 1 platform is a hardware and software solution for developers. The software part of the platform, which allows self-driving cars to navigate the road and respond to a change in the road situation, the company intends to update every two months.

Based on the company's solution, Baidu, nuTotomy, Volvo, TomTom and WEpods buses are already being developed.

Panasonic tests prototype of self-driving and self-marking car

Engineers of the Japanese company Panasonic presented in September 2016 an experimental prototype of a car capable of independently navigating space and even parking without human participation. Testing of a two-seater compact car equipped with five on-board cameras and sensors has taken place at a specially equipped^[52] site^[53].

The tests helped assess how accurately and adequately the cameras recognize the surrounding space and obstacles in the car's path, as well as check the car's handling and braking quality. As a result, not a single person and a mannequin installed on the road were injured. For the foreseeable future, engineers are planning field tests on real streets.

In recent years, Panasonic has been actively developing the b2b direction and, in particular, the production of solutions and components for the automotive industry. And if Panasonic's audio and video technologies were originally used to create infotainment systems, the company is now paying more and more attention to human-machine interfaces and security systems.

By fiscal 2019, Panasonic expects to increase its auto business to 2.1 trillion yen, making electric vehicle solutions the main driver of growth. Revenues from automated driving technologies, according to the company's calculations, should grow one and a half times in the next couple of years.

Drive Me project: Volvo autopilot cars hit public roads

Premium automaker Volvo officially launches the Drive Me project in September 2016, an experiment to test autopilot vehicles on public roads. As part of the Drive Me project, on September 9, 2016, the company launched its very first autopilot car on the roads of Swedish Gothenburg.

The assembly of the Volvo XC90 SUV with the autopilot system was completed in the specialized workshop of the plant in the city of Torsland. This is the first Volvo in a whole series of cars with autonomous control systems that will be handed over to ordinary Gothenburg families for use in their daily journeys.

Volvo is confident that the introduction of autonomous control technologies will reduce the number of road accidents. Moreover, such technologies promise to significantly relieve roads and reduce pollution, and drivers will be able to use their time on the trip more efficiently.

  

Volvo offers all customers the second generation Pilot Assist semi-autonomous control system, which is installed in the 90 series models (XC90, S90, V90). Pilot Assist includes a neat taxiing function, leveling the car in the lane within road markings at speeds up to 130 km/h, and the system does not require a vehicle in front. Cars participating in the "Drive Me" project will allow drivers to remove their hands from the steering wheel and not touch the pedals when driving within specially designated areas for autonomous control in the suburbs of Gothenburg. Control will be carried out by a system called "Autonomous Driving Brain" in Volvo.

>> Volvo Drive <<Me Video

The main difference between the "Drive Me" project and such experiments in the field of autonomous control is the initial approach, when the developer's focus is on the user. Instead of relying only on the results of research by their engineers, Volvo pays great attention to the feedback of people who use cars with autopilots in everyday life.

By choosing this approach, the company intends to improve its autonomous control technologies so that they meet the needs of customers to the greatest extent by the time autopilot machines are launched on the commercial market in 2021.

After assembly, the cars of the "Drive Me" project will undergo a phase of comprehensive tests, which will ensure the flawless operation of all functions of the autonomous control system. Upon completion of tests controlled by Volvo engineers, the vehicles will be transferred to users involved in the "Drive Me" project.

The Drive Me pilot project in Gothenburg is the first such Volvo initiative to test self-driving machines. A similar project will be held in 2017 in London. Volvo is also considering applications from a number of cities in China, which also expressed a desire to participate in the Drive Me project. Volvo cars with autopilots may appear on the streets of Chinese cities over the coming years.

First unmanned bus launched in Dubai

The ten-seater bus made its first journey in early September 2016. The length of the route was 700 meters. The innovative transport, developed by French group Easy Mile in collaboration with Omnix, is powered by an electric engine and speeds up to 40 kilometres per hour. The "probationary period" for the bus will be one month.

The researchers noted that such a bus can adapt its speed to the environment, as well as quickly brake if a pedestrian runs out towards it. The minibus will provide access to Dubai's main tourist attractions.

The developers noted that the launch of such a bus is a very important step towards the introduction of unmanned vehicles in Dubai. By 2030, about a quarter of the city's total transportation will be fully automated.

The world's first unmanned taxi took to the streets of Singapore

In the summer of 2016, the world's first self-driving taxi service began operating in Singapore. Six electric cars will carry passengers across an area of ​ ​ 2.5 square miles in one of the city's business districts, according to the Associated Press^[54] August 25: The ^[55].

The fleet, consisting of Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars, is owned by nuTotomy. By the end of this year, the company's management hopes to increase the number of unmanned taxis to 12 units, and by 2018, replace all taxis in the city with cars without drivers. It is noted that at present, to use the services of unmanned taxis, you need to receive a special invitation from the company.

According to the chief operating officer of the company, Doug Parker, the implementation of the nuTotomy project in the Sigapur infrastructure will reduce the number of cars in the city from 900 thousand to 300 thousand.

American manufacturers will create a universal autopilot

In the summer of 2016, it became known that in January 2017, Delphi Automotive and Mobileye intend to demonstrate a system capable of controlling the movement of a car in difficult road conditions. A fully automated control system may be installed on conveyor assembly cars as early as 2019. This forecast was made by the Wall Street Journal^[56], which announced the pooling of resources for such a system of two large parts companies - Delphi Automotive and Mobileye.

Now they supply only individual components of the system - sensors and software for prototypes of machines with autopilot.

Companies intend to show a system that can control the movement of a car, for example, at a roundabout, as well as exit from a secondary road to a busy highway or make a left turn through the oncoming lane. Kevin Clark, chief executive officer of Delphi, said in an interview with the newspaper that "several hundred million dollars will be invested in this project."

"Companies expect that on the basis of the partnership it will be possible to create a control system suitable for installation on all types of cars - from small cars to pickups," the newspaper writes. - The production of such a system will allow these companies to take a leading position in the struggle for the supply of high-tech systems for unmanned vehicles. Our unification occurs at a time when large automakers themselves are trying to create an automatic control system for their machines. "

"'As the publication notes, Alphabet and General Motors (GM) have already" made it clear that they will release such systems earlier, "Volvo intends to test an unmanned vehicle next year, and Nissan and Tesla intend to create competitive systems by the end of this decade.

First Autopilot Victim

In the summer of 2016, the US authorities began investigating the causes of the first fatal accident involving a car that was moving on autopilot. The accident itself occurred at an unregulated intersection in the American city of Williston in Florida in May, but it was known about the incident in which the driver died only in July. A Tesla Model S electric car with autopilot on rammed a tractor with a trailer on the highway, which was moving in a perpendicular direction, trying to cross the intersection. A heavy truck moving towards the Tesla made a left turn onto a secondary road. According to the press service of Tesla, the accident occurred due to a combination of tragic circumstances^[57] of^[58].

Tesla believes that the cause of the accident may be that the automation under the control of the vehicle did not have time to recognize the danger due to the white color of the truck trailer against a bright sky. For the same reason, according to the automaker's assumption, the driver himself did not react in time, who could take control of the car: the bright sun could blind him. According to another version, the autopilot could malfunction due to the long overhang of the truck trailer and large ground clearance, which prevented the radars from "seeing" the obstacle ahead.

The consequences turned out to be monstrous: the car drove under the truck, as a result of which the roof of the sedan was demolished, then flew off the highway, ramming two fences, and stopped, crashing into a pole. As a result of numerous collisions, 40-year-old electric sedan driver Joshua Brown died at the scene of the incident from his injuries.

One way or another, Tesla believes that the severity of the consequences of the accident is explained precisely by the long overhang of the truck. The company notes that if the car crashed into a trailer, the driver could survive - similar accidents involving Tesla have already occurred several times.

This accident involving an autonomous vehicle was the first in which a person died. At the same time, Tesla cars with autopilot function have already traveled more than 200 million km in total. At the same time, according to statistics, in the United States, one death as a result of an accident on average falls on 145 million km of all cars.

USA: A computer driving a car instead of a person can be considered a driver

On February 10, 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration USA (English abbreviation NHTSA) reported that from the point of view of law, a computer driving a car instead of a person can be considered a driver^[59] Administration^[59]

This conclusion allows us to conclude that Google has made significant progress in introducing self-driving cars^[60]since the agency does not mind cars without drivers moving on freeways, subject to Google's responsibility. But the agency's decision cannot be considered federal law - this is only a recommendation.

In the current US traffic rules, the driver is considered to be the one who is on the spot at the wheel of the vehicle. But Google plans to create a car that meets the fourth level of control automation described in a preliminary version of the standard published in May 2013. This car will not have ordinary controls - steering wheel, pedals, levers. The company believes: the possibility of passenger intervention in management reduces traffic safety.

The Office of Traffic Safety plans to consider changing relevant sections of federal vehicle safety standards, but that takes time.

2015: Google self-driving car crash

A self-driving car from Google got into a serious accident, which cost no victims, but three Google employees were injured. The "self-propelled" hybrid crossover Lexus RX 450h drove up to the intersection when two cars moving in front of it unexpectedly began to brake, despite the allowing passage of the traffic light. The drivers of these cars saw a traffic jam after the intersection and, despite the burning "green," did not dare to go to the intersection of the streets so as not to block traffic at the intersection. The autonomous Lexus also slowed down. The driver of the car driving behind the "Google car" did not have time to react and crashed into a Lexus at a speed of 27 km/h. Later it turned out that the man driving this car did not even have time to press the brake pedal until the moment of impact. This accident for Google was the first in which people were injured.

See also ITS

• Intelligent Transport Infrastructure (ITS) Russia
• AIC Safe City - as part of the implementation of the federal program "Safe City"
• Smart cities
• State IT giants: the 10 most expensive information systems in modern Russia
• Intelligent Transport System (Moscow)

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