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 Systems that enable vehicles to communicate with each other have
been developed in recent years in parallel with features that enable
cars to drive themselves. Manufacturers and suppliers now are
putting the two together in novel ways, with broad implications for
vehicle safety and convenience.
General Motors Co, Honda Motor Co, which owns Acura, and other
automakers are working with traditional suppliers and startup firms.
Tech giants Google, with its pioneering work on driverless cars, and
Apple, which is working with automakers to embed greater
connectivity in their cars, are accelerating the change.
"It is the mix of big companies -- Apple, Google, the automakers and
the data aggregators -- that starts to create momentum. Two years
ago, it was different. It was a promise. Today, it’s reality," said
Laurens Eckelboom, executive vice president of business development
at Parkmobile, a smart-parking startup whose investors include BMW
AG and Ford Motor Chairman Bill Ford's venture capital firm
Fontinalis Partners.
A "truck platooning" application by Peloton Technology, a startup
based in California's Silicon Valley, is intended to save fuel and
reduce collisions.
As with virtual towing, a "platoon" of two heavy trucks use wireless
communication and computer-controlled braking and acceleration to
keep in close formation on the highway, according to a description
by the company, which expects to start selling the technology late
next year at $2,000 per truck plus a share of the projected
operating savings.
The total price tag for widespread adaption of such features could
be steep. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
estimates automakers will need to spend billions of dollars to
install safety systems that automatically assist drivers and could
be mandated by 2020, when the industry expects the first
self-driving cars to start easing onto roads.
WHO IS LIABLE?
There are other risks and issues including reliability,
cybersecurity and legal liability.
"What happens if a self-driving car gets into an accident? Who is
liable for the damages? Will the human ‘copilot’ be at fault or will
the car’s manufacturer?," the Center for Insurance Policy and
Research wrote last month, citing "a long list of safety and legal
issues to iron out before self-driving cars hit the road.”
All the razzle-dazzle technology promised by automakers and
regulators "shouldn't take our eyes off the prize -- cars that don't
crash," Jon Lauckner, GM's chief technology officer, said at the
Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress in Detroit this week.
Citi analyst Itay Michaeli said the convergence of connected and
automated technologies also has the potential to reduce vehicle
emissions and fuel usage, and bring down vehicle operating and
insurance costs.
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Active safety, including hands-free driver assistance and accident
avoidance, was a common thread of many technical discussions and
technology advances on display at the ITS show, which attracted
10,000 engineers, scientists and researchers, ending on Thursday.
Automakers are starting to put more of the new technologies on the
road "to get some experience and see how the market reacts in
advance of the government requiring it," said Jeff Owens, Delphi
Automotive chief technology officer.
Price is still a big question. Some advanced systems could cost two
to three times more to develop than early adopters are likely to
pay, several industry insiders estimated in conversations at the
show.
Even with just a few semi-automated systems installed, the price tag
remains stiff, although recent studies have shown car buyers are
willing to pay about $3,000 to have hands-free driving capability.
The Chrysler Group, a unit of Italy’s Fiat SpA, is charging nearly
$3,500 for a technology bundle on its new 2015 Chrysler 200C sedan
that includes adaptive cruise control, which automatically applies
brakes and throttle to keep a vehicle a safe distance behind the one
ahead; lane departure warning with lane keep assist, which
automatically redirects a vehicle that is drifting out of its
traffic lane; blind spot and cross path detection, which helps the
driver monitor the presence of vehicles, and automatic park assist.
GM's Cadillac brand hasn't said how much its new Smart Cruise system
will cost when it debuts in about two years. The system is designed
to enable hands-free driving on the freeway with automatic steering,
braking and throttle, as well as using GM's OnStar system to provide
location, weather and traffic information to the automated systems.
But drivers should not expect to take a snooze. "We are talking
about 'automated' driving features, not autonomous driving," with
Smart Cruise, warned spokesman Jim Cain. "We will have strategies in
place to keep the driver alert and engaged."
(Reporting by Ben Klayman, Bernie Woodall and Paul Lienert in
Detroit, editing by Peter Henderson)
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