With the presentation of the Tesla Cybercab, the robotaxi Without a steering wheel or pedals or any type of control, we once again talk about autonomous driving. Between Tesla’s Autopilot FSD, the Ford o Mercedes that allow you to take your hands off the wheel and the robotaxi services already existing in a few cities in the United States, one could get the feeling that the autonomous car is a very palpable reality.
However, the capabilities of the different systems currently offered seem to be stagnating. So, between the ambitions of the different players, the ongoing experiments and the technologies on the market, let’s see where the autonomous car stands in 2024 and what its future is.
Autonomous driving, or the myth of the car that drives itself
What has helped the most to sell Teslas is neither their enormous autonomy nor their excellent efficiency, but the system Autopilot FSDby Full Self Drivingwhich in Spain calls “Total autonomous driving capacity”. And yet, at the same time, the brand reminds us that the driver must keep his hands on the wheel and in control of the car at all times. Confused? Normal. Clearly, it is not an autonomous driving system.
The main indicator of how advanced an autonomous driving system is or is not is, precisely, its level of autonomy, according to the organization’s description. SAE International (the Society of Automotive Engineers).
According to the engineering organization, there are up to five levels of autonomous driving, with different degrees of autonomy of the car with respect to its driver or passengers.
These levels range from level 0, where the car barely helps us (the ABS or the lane change warning fall into the category of level 0) and 100% of the control of the car is in the hands of its driver, up to level 5, where the passenger(s) have absolutely no control over the car beyond indicating a destination or a stop.
Most cars on the market today equip level 1 or level 2 systems. The difference between one and the other is subtle. In level 1 the car helps us with steering functions (active lane keeping assistant, for example) or braking and acceleration, such as active cruise control.
At level 2, the car can control both functions in a controlled environment. That is, the car can control steering and acceleration or braking functions at the same time. This is the case of a Tesla FSD Autopilot or an HDA2 (highway driving assistance), as in the Kia EV9, systems with which the car with active cruise control can overtake a slower car on the highway safely, the driver only has to indicate to the car that he wants to overtake by turning on the turn signal.
It is from level 3 onwards that you can really say that the car drives itself. In the case of level 3 it is in certain circumstances. At level 3, if necessary, the car will require the driver to regain control of the car. Currently, only Mercedes (sistema Drive Pilot) and Honda, with the Honda SENSING Elite In Japan, they offer cars equipped with level 3 systems for sale.
Between level 2 and level 3, Ford proposes an intermediate system, Blue Cruise and that we try here. Available in Spain, it allows you to let go of the steering wheel, but does not allow you to look away from the road, as level 3 systems do. In any case, whether at level 2.5 (Ford BlueCruise) or level 3, the driver You must be able to regain control of driving if necessary when the car asks you to. This assumption does not occur at level 4.
However, at both level 3 and level 4, autonomous driving systems operate exclusively when the conditions that allow it are met. As soon as there is an unexpected variable, such as leave a simple cone on the hood of the carthe circumstances that allow its operation are no longer met and the car stops. Or an operator takes back remote control.
Los robotaxislike those of Waymoat Alphabet (Google), from Cruise (General Motors) or those from Volkswagen, still in the testing phase, are level 4 autonomous cars. They still maintain the pedals and the steering wheel, but it is not an essential requirement. They might lack them which will still be Tier 4 cars.
True autonomous driving, in which the car drives itself, reacting appropriately to an unforeseen event, such as an obstacle on the road, occurs at level 5. It is an ideal solution in which, whatever the circumstances, the car He drives like a human would, adapting to the circumstances.
Of course, the use of these technologies has legal implications in the event of an accident. Thus, in a car equipped with level 2 systems, the driver will always be responsible for the maneuvers that the car has made, whether or not the level 2 driving systems are active at the time of the accident.
In the event of an accident with a car equipped with a level 3 system and this being in use at the time of the accident, the car manufacturer will be responsible for the possible legal consequences of the accident. That is, the brand will be responsible, not the driver.
Robotaxis: they are a reality, but with many restrictions
Elon Musk promised in 2019 that buying one of his electric cars would be an “investment for the future,” as they would appreciate instead of depreciate. This theory was based on the very optimistic ambitions of the CEO, who hoped to offer fully autonomous driving as soon as possible, driving up the value of his vehicles.
Tesla even named its most advanced autonomous driving system Autopilot FSD, which means fully autonomous driving. However, Tesla is not among the few manufacturers that currently propose level 3 autonomous driving systems.
However, the brand could make the leap to level 4 with its Cybercab, a two-seater robotaxi that lacks a bottom bracket and steering wheel. Although, yes, the day it hits the market it will no longer be the first to offer this service.
Without making much noise, unlike Elon Musk, Waymothe Alphabet (Google) subsidiary dedicated to autonomous driving, has become one of the main protagonists.
Waymo already offers autonomous taxis, with level 4 autonomous driving, in Phoenix and San Francisco, and soon in Los Angeles and Austin, in the United States. There is no operator at the wheel, and the cars are only monitored remotely from control centers.
Times are much less rosy for Cruisesubsidiary of General Motors which competes with Waymo. The company has completely suspended its autonomous taxi service in September 2023, after an accident with a pedestrian in San Francisco revealed a series of anomalies in the company’s operations. Cruise saw its license to operate in the city revoked, when California authorities ruled that “the manufacturer’s vehicles are not safe for public use.”
Currently, Cruise cars have returned to the road in a new phase of testing with supervisors behind the wheel in cities such as Phoenix or Austin, but not San Francisco. General Motors explains that “Cruise operates a much smaller fleet of cars than before and that the vehicles do not carry paying passengers for now, although the company hopes to open the service to customers later.”
It all depends on the legal framework
Of course, the use of these technologies has legal implications in the event of an accident. Thus, in a car equipped with level 2 systems, the driver will always be responsible for the maneuvers that the car has made, whether or not the level 2 driving systems are active at the time of the accident.
In the event of an accident with a car equipped with a level 4 or higher system and this being in use at the time of the accident, it will be the car manufacturer who assumes legal responsibility for the accident. That is, the brand will be responsible, not the driver.
In the event of an accident with an active level 3 system, as in the case of the Mercedes Drive Pilot In Germany, liability in the event of an accident is determined by the circumstances of the individual case. If, for example, the driver fails to fulfill his duties of care and therefore causes an accident, he is liable for the resulting damages.
Besides, binding international regulation on level 3 vehicle automation limits the use of this type of system to specific circumstances, namely at low speed on a four-lane road with a median, without pedestrian crossings or cycle lanes or roundabouts or construction works, and up to a maximum 60 km/h. In other words, it can only be used on a highway with two lanes in each direction.
And in Spain, will we have robotaxis?
Technological advances often move much faster than legislation. In fact, while Blue Cruise is approved in our country, systems such as Tesla or Mercedes-Benz They are not legal in Spain at the moment (although in 2025, Tesla’s system could finally be approved).
Although some European countries, such as France or Germany, already have a regulatory framework in place for vehicles that equip the most advanced technology in autonomous driving in the future (levels 4 and 5), this is not the case in Spain. . Today, They are illegal systems in our country.
The deputy general director of Vehicles of the DGT, Susana Gómez, advanced a year agothat the entity is working on “the construction of a regulatory framework” so that 100% autonomous cars can circulate without a driver in our country.
To this end, the current Vehicle Circulation Regulations will foreseeably be modified, including articles or sections that point to the autonomous driving system as the driver of the autonomous vehicle, thus exempting the passenger-driver from all responsibility in the event of an accident, and the obligation to use these cars in their specific operational context.
As soon as this new legal framework is approved and comes into force, in theory we could see autonomous cars in Spain, both level 3, like Mercedes’ Drive Pilot, for example, and level 4 robotaxi services, in the style of those of Waymo.
However, we will still have to wait many years before Level 5 autonomous vehicles, capable of driving completely autonomously in all situations, can travel on our roads and supplant human driving.
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Source: www.motorpasion.com
