So in a bid to roll out these cars by at least the year 2021, BMW teamed up with these firms, that highlights a shift in the dynamics of research and development in the car industry, which until recently saw auto makers largely dictating terms for suppliers to manufacture their proprietary technologies at specified volumes and prices.
Presently, Auto makers are hooking up with technology firms who have some level of expertise in the machine language and mapping, which are essential ingredients in the making of driverless cars a reality. In a joint news conference announcing the alliance, Intel Chief, Brian Krzanich said that "Highly autonomous cars and everything they connect to will require powerful and reliable electronic brains to make them smart enough to navigate traffic and avoid accidents.”
Now to produce driverless cars with no driver either on the seat or any of the front seats, will require some huge computing power and software sophistication which these traditional Auto makers may not handle expertly on their own. In continuation with the press statements, the intel Chief stated that creating common technology standards would help all manufacturers update their vehicles faster, "That will be critical for advancing the safety aspects of this."
Beyond technological hurdles there are legal questions over who is responsible when a crash occurs. On Thursday (30th), the driver of a Tesla Model S car, operating in Autopilot mode, was killed in a collision with a truck in the United States, prompting an investigation by federal highway safety regulators.
When asked about the crash, BMW CEO Harald Krueger said: "The accident is very sad .... We believe today the technologies are not ready for series production," he added, explaining the alliance had not forecast that until 2021. "For the BMW group, safety comes first," he said.
As part of the new alliance, Intel, the world's largest computer chip maker which has been looking to expand into the automotive electronics market, will supply the microprocessors - or central processing units - to control an array of sensors.
Auto camera and software maker Mobileye will supply its Road Experience Management (REM) technology and make its latest EyeQ5 chip available to be deployed on Intel computing platforms.
The three companies said they would demonstrate their technology in a prototype in the near future.
A common approach to standards will also make it easier for regulators to understand and approve the road worthiness of a vehicle while still leaving enough scope for individual car manufacturers to customize their cars, Mobileye Chairman Amnon Shashua said.
The future of driverless cars, is something to look forward to with keen interest. Source: Reuters.
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