Volvo has announced a new advanced driver assistance system called the Ride Pilot system. The system allows vehicles to drive themselves autonomously on certain highways without any human supervision. The company announced the system at CES 2022. It is reported that Ride Pilot will be offered as a subscription service to customers in California, USA.
It's an ambitious plan, of course at its own risk, and it also sets Volvo apart from its competitors, many of whom are planning to use self-driving technology as part of a robo-taxi service rather than for individually owned production cars. But Volvo believes that by limiting the areas of operation — or conditions under which cars can drive autonomously — on highways, it creates vehicle technology that is not only safer but also less costly.
Speaking to The Verge, henrik Green, the automaker's chief technology officer, said: "We won't need to hold the steering wheel in our hands or keep our eyes glued to the road. But when asked if the driver could nap in the car with the Ride Pilot on, Green disagreed.
"We are still very purposeful in the time we ask for a wake-up call, without any difference," he said. Napping takes a moment to wake up, so let's see how far and when we can go. You need to be able to take control and take back driving responsibility for a certain period of time. ”
Pending regulatory approval, the new feature will initially be open only to customers in California. Green describes the state as having a "good geographical location in terms of weather conditions: sunny and in good condition on the roads".
Volvo's upcoming (unnamed) electric SUV, which will be announced later this year, will be the first vehicle to feature the Ride Pilot. Volvo's Concept Recharge concept, released last summer, aims to preview how the SUV and the new driver assistance system will be presented alongside supplier Luminar's fully integrated roof lidar. The design of the Recharge concept car is likely to resemble the electric XC90 successor to come later this year.
In addition to Luminar's lidar, Volvo's Ride Pilot system will feature software developed by Zenseact. Zenseact, a subsidiary of Volvo, works with the automaker's own team of engineers. Florida-based Luminar worked closely with Zenseact's team in Sweden to develop full-stack autonomous driving software for mass-produced vehicles.
Green wouldn't say when it plans to officially launch Ride Pilot, but he noted that it will almost certainly be sometime after 2022. "What's less clear now is that from our confidence and our validation, we can get started, and (regulations) need to be in place," Green said.
Ride Pilot is a three-level autonomous driving system under the SAE standard, in which driver supervision is not required in a highly controlled environment, such as on some planned highways. But in a third-tier system, drivers still need to be prepared to take control at notice, which puts it somewhat in the ambiguity between a second-level advanced driver assistance system (like Tesla's Autopilot) and a fully driverless vehicle (like Waymo's self-driving taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona).
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) oversees the nation's largest self-driving car test program, with more than 60 companies allowed to operate test vehicles on public roads. Only a handful of companies are approved to operate fully autonomous vehicles without a safe driver, and even fewer are approved to deploy vehicles for commercial purposes.
But what Volvo is looking for is a little different. The automaker is applying for permission to test autonomous vehicles on public roads through the state's Motor Vehicles Administration. Instead of deploying its vehicles as part of a taxi or delivery fleet, Volvo wants approval from California to make its level-3 self-driving system available to customers as part of a subscription service — something the state hasn't done yet for any company.
Under the DMV, companies that wish to deploy vehicles with tertiary capabilities on public roads must also obtain authorization from the state before providing their technology to customers. However, Volvo has not yet applied for a deployment license.
Green noted that given that a large percentage of people rent vehicles rather than own them, offering Ride Pilot on a subscription basis is a low barrier for consumers. "Not everyone has a lot of cash available. Subscription is a very low hurdle that you can try. ”
Most self-driving car companies, including Waymo and Cruise, have said they are skipping Level 3 and specifically working on Level 4 technology. The reason is that Level 3 is considered potentially dangerous, as drivers are likely to be confused about when they need to take over control of the vehicle.
Other automakers have stumbled upon the promise of third-level driving. In 2018, Audi said its A8 sedan will be equipped with a feature called Traffic Jam Assist, which, when activated, will ease the attention of human drivers in stop-and-go traffic. But this feature depends on local government approval, and the Traffic Jam Assist system remains dormant in most markets around the world. Audi has no plans to activate the feature, and three levels of automation remain a mire of legal, regulatory and commercial-related challenges.
Another potential obstacle is the possibility of abuse by customers. A good example is Tesla's Level 2 Autopilot beta software, which, despite its misleading name, still requires drivers to be vigilant when using it. Tesla's customers often ignore the company's warnings and abuse Autopilot to record their dangerous stunts. This kind of rule-breaking behavior can be expected, especially in a society where the pursuit of cloud computing has become a way of life for many people.
Green says it's a communications and technology challenge for Volvo to ensure its customers know when they need to take over and when they're abusing systems. "In communication with consumers, it needs to be clear. When you operate the vehicle, it needs to be clear inside the vehicle. So it's a very important area. ”