The industry has invested billions in the development of autonomous driving, but the commercialization is a long time coming.
Ten years ago, there was optimism that autonomous driving would be on the market by the 2020s. Today there is at least one model that has level 3. level 4 there are a few in the US and level 5 – actually autonomous driving – is not yet foreseeable.
In the meantime, according to a report by McKinsey & Co., around 100 billion US dollars have flowed into research. In addition, there is now a recession in which not only car companies, but even alphabet and Co. save. aurora considered selling the company himself. Stock prices are falling and money isn’t as loose. Both the startups and the big ones are exposed to the situation.
intel bought Mobileye, General Motors bought Cruise and VW is like ford at Argo AI jumped in and Amazon bought Zoox. There are several examples of development that everyone wanted to do on their own and now nobody has really made it into a business. It was hype that has since flattened out.
The successes are there, but not really. That’s how Cruise drives through san francisco, but there are always mistakes. The car in front of a police control drove away, the cars moving in one met street or of course those Kill, which are caused by incorrect operation of Tesla vehicles.
Admittedly, above all trucks currently automated, but these only drive on the autobahn and only in the sunny south. Because bad weather is still a challenge for the vehicles.
The hope remains for convenience, fewer road deaths and less environmental pollution. Except for the convenience, this could probably be done better and, above all, faster. Autonomous driving will be a long time coming.