“By then, self-driving cars will have revolutionized transportation in the same way that personal computers have revolutionized office work,” Gates said.

He also recently rode in a self-driving car developed by British startup Wayve, an experience that seemed to leave a lasting impression on him. The experience, he said, was “fantastic.” But he also noted on his blog that the safety driver next to him took over the car on several occasions.

“The self-driving car took us around central London in one of the most challenging driving environments imaginable. It felt a bit surreal to be in the car because it avoided all the traffic. ”Gates said.

Gates believes that personal vehicles will only have self-driving capabilities after self-driving technology is applied to long-distance trucks, delivery vehicles, taxis and rental cars. He predicts that self-driving cars will eventually be cheaper than regular cars, save people time (time spent driving) and help the elderly and disabled get around. However, he believes widespread adoption of self-driving cars may be “decades away”.

So far, no personal vehicle can drive itself, although some companies have begun offering robo-taxi services in certain cities. Services like GM’s Cruise and Waymo use detailed maps and programming to operate only in specific areas of the city. By contrast, Wayve (much like Tesla) wants to develop an AI-powered car that can learn to drive anywhere, even places it hasn’t been before.

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Tesla co-founder Eberhard

Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard said in an interview, “In my opinion, we need to get out of the habit of thinking that all this self-driving stuff is associated with electric cars. They’re separate. I’d like to see people thinking about making cars that people can drive.”

Self-driving is bullshit

Eberhard was CEO of Tesla but was ousted by Musk in 2007. He said that while working at Tesla, developing self-driving software for electric cars was the least of his concerns.

“So, remember, all this nonsense about fully automated driving (FSD), autopilot — none of that existed when I was there,” he said, “We were We were still too busy trying to get the car running to think about that. That happened later. It required a much larger budget than we had.”

When Eberhard left Tesla in 2007, the company had not yet released its first car. Tesla was developing the Roadster sports car, a small sports car based on the Lotus Elise model. The Lotus Elise is a two-seat convertible that was first sold by the British Lotus Motor Company in 1996.

Eberhard said that while he appreciates “safety-oriented systems” such as assisted driving features, he is “not a big fan” of autonomous driving. He said Musk seems to have his heart set on self-driving cars and believes that is one of his biggest concerns about Tesla under Musk’s leadership.

Cars shouldn’t be like iPhones

For years, Musk has promised that Tesla would get fully self-driving cars on the road. Last year, the billionaire said Tesla’s self-driving system was the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money and is almost worthless.

Today, Tesla is known for its remote software updates. Musk has said that the company is “as much a software company as it is a hardware company. But Eberhard disagrees with that approach.

“I think it’s wrong to think of the car as a software platform, like an iPhone or something else. But it’s not the same,” Eberhard said stating, “I have an iPhone, and every time I get a software update, there are bugs in it. These bugs mean danger. For example, my news push app occasionally crashes. It’s no big deal because it’s just an annoyance on the iPhone. But this kind of bug can show up in car control software, for example, my brakes or steering wheel, and it can kill you.”

Currently, all Tesla models are equipped with Autopilot. tesla owners can also purchase the company’s FSD beta feature for $15,000 or through a $199 monthly subscription. The beta feature enables the vehicle to automatically change lanes, enter and exit the freeway, recognize stop signs and traffic lights, and stop. Both programs still require a licensed owner to monitor the system at all times. Tesla’s artificial intelligence system collects owner data to improve the system as drivers use it. As of last December, more than 285,000 people had purchased the feature.

Over the past few years, Tesla has come under increasing scrutiny from regulators over its Autopilot system and marketing. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Autopilot and its potential connection to several accidents.

Eberhard and Musk have disagreed in the past. After Musk began referring to himself as the founder of Tesla and making negative comments about Eberhard, Eberhard filed a defamation lawsuit against Musk in 2009, which was settled that same year. Since then, Musk has been critical of Eberhard online.

Musk and Tesla have not yet commented.

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Thomas Schafer said: “Our goal is to provide our customers with the most powerful functions as early as possible, and to carry out our development in the cheapest way possible. Its software company Cariad will focus on autonomous driving development in China, and Bosch will be a key player in the development of autonomous vehicles.” its partners in other parts of the world.”

Thomas Schafer also said, “The technology is already there, and we are conducting self-driving tests in Hamburg and Munich. The cost of the related cars is still prohibitive, because the production volume is so small, and there will always be a need to prove that the system can drive better than people. Legislation in this area is important, and the situation in each country is completely different.”

“There has to be a focus on autonomous driving, there is huge profit and opportunity in this area. I wouldn’t say winner takes all, but it’s an early game and can’t wait,” he said.

Thomas Schafter also talked about some of Volkswagen’s problems in launching self-driving cars, “that is, legislation, camera systems, chips, energy consumption, and computing speed. Cars will be the largest data collection devices ever. It’s complicated.”

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The South Korean government announced the “Mobile Innovation Roadmap” on the 17th, setting up a “three-step” plan for the popularization of self-driving, that is, to become the third country to allow L3-level (conditional automation) self-driving cars on the road after Japan and Germany by the end of the year; to realize L4-level (highly autonomous) self-driving buses and ferries by 2025 commercialization; and the launch of L4-class passenger cars by 2027.

According to the standard of SAE, self-driving cars are divided into 6 levels depending on the level of intelligence and automation, and currently, domestic car companies provide mainly L2 level (partial automation). L2 level requires a system and humans to control the car together, but L4 level can be used without human intervention in most cases.

In order to achieve this goal, the Korean government will first develop L4 level supporting safety standards and improve the insurance system. It is planned to designate and operate driverless lanes in the first half of next year, and select “mobile innovation highway” zones where various driverless services such as driverless trucks can be verified.

The Ministry of Land and Infrastructure will hold a hearing on the planning document on the 27th, based on which the final plan for the third phase of the basic plan will be formulated, and the final plan will be finalized and announced after consultation with relevant agencies and consideration by the National Transportation Commission.

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Akira Yamauchi, CEO of IP Landscape, said, “Apple’s automotive-related patent filings peaked in 2017 and then temporarily decreased. However, if future published applications are included, the total number of applications in 2021 could equal the record set in 2017.”

Source: Nikkei Asian Review

The report noted that Apple began its involvement in the automotive sector around 2014, when it launched a project code-named “Titan” to develop self-driving electric cars, with news that it had hired a large number of researchers in artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies.

In January 2021, Hyundai was said to be in talks with Apple, and although the South Korean automaker denied the market rumors, it was an open secret that Apple was looking to enter the automotive space.

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