Hyundai is getting closer to developing Level 3 autonomous driving technology, an executive said at a recent industry event, signalling the automaker plans to join other OEMs in further advancing self-driving features.
“We’re very close, and we’re looking to make sure we do it correctly,” said Brian Latouf, the OEM’s global chief safety officer, during the recent Automotive News Canada Congress.
Current Level 2 technology, sometimes called semi-autonomous, can drive the vehicle through adaptive cruise control and lane centring but requires an attentive driver who is always ready to take control. With Level 3 technology, the vehicle takes responsibility for driving, on specific stretches of roadway and under certain conditions.
Latouf said Hyundai is looking to initially roll the next-level automation out in South Korea before introducing it to the North American market. “In the Korean market, we’re looking at introducing a Level 3 that’s kind of a highway drive pilot type of system that is on just highways alone and limiting certain speeds,” he said. “There’s a lot of testing that’s happening and the team is looking carefully at that,” he said. “We have a very structured process to look across our different data streams to say,: ‘Hey, are we having some power steering failures that could create lateral risk and perhaps crashes?’ and then we act upon it. So, it’s a very good, technically based data analytics investigation recall decision process.”
Hyundai isn’t the first to announce further advancements in vehicle automation. Mercedes-Benz became the first to offer Level 3 autonomy in the U.S. when its self-driving system, Drive Pilot, was approved for use in Nevada last month. Mercedes said during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas that the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles approved its application and was preparing the certificate of compliance. The DMV will allow Mercedes to self-certify that the Level 3 autonomous system is safe for use on public roads. Mercedes is also seeking approval for Drive Pilot use in California.
Meanwhile, General Motors and Ford want to manufacture up to 2,500 Level 4 autonomous vehicles a year under temporary federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) exemptions both are seeking from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). The exemptions would be for two years.
The road toward greater automation hasn’t been a smooth one, with NHTSA warning that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software may cause crashes when issuing a recall on 362,758 vehicles of varying model years from 2017-2023. The FSD Beta software allows equipped Teslas “to exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner,” increasing the risk of a crash, it said.
Tesla’s latest recall highlights a bigger issue with the ways partial automation systems are designed and advertised, said the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). “The partial automation systems on vehicles today require the driver to be fully engaged in the driving task at all times and retake control when necessary,” said David Harkey, IIHS president. “Institute research shows that drivers who use partial automation on a regular basis often treat their vehicles as fully self-driving despite widespread warnings and numerous high-profile crash reports. However, none of the current systems is designed to replace a human driver or to make it safe for a driver to perform other activities that take their focus from the road.”
This article courtesy of John Huetter of Repairer Driven Education. Check out the website at: http://www.repairerdrivennews.com/.