The hype surrounding autonomous vehicles shifted up a gear recently, first with claims that Google could develop its own autonomous taxis, and then with Nissan’s promise to sell an autonomous vehicle by 2020. While I hate to rain on anyone’s parade, autonomous or otherwise, I think these two stories should be taken with heavy dose of road salt.
The first story builds on a report in the German newspaper Aktuelle Nachirchten suggesting Google is working with auto-component companies, including Continental AG and Magna International. Google may well be considering all possibilities, but I think it’s quite unlikely it will attempt to build its own cars. That would be a colossal undertaking, even for such an ambitious company; and it’s experience with electronics hardware hardly seems like sufficient preparation for a leap into the immensely complex and high-risk world of automotive manufacturing.
It’s more likely, I think, that Google would develop some sort of self-driving control system in collaboration with a company like Continental, and that such a system would be offered to car manufacturers. Continental already supplies all manner of components and technologies to car makers, including various pre-crash sensors, and “driver assist” technologies for adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, and lane departure warning. While a number of car makers are talking about their own autonomous driving technology, there are several that aren’t, and these laggards could well be interested in some sort off-the-shelf solution.
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