Sunday Times

Self-driving cars are the future — and the tech is already here

- Arthur Goldstuck Arthur Goldstuck

As the selfdrivin­g car slowly moves out of parking mode, a misconcept­ion remains that autonomy is not possible on South African roads. But the building blocks of self-driving are becoming commonplac­e. The earliest form of vehicle autonomy, cruise control, is 70 years old this year. Now, such technologi­es are arriving at a furious pace.

This was one of the key messages brought home by Roel de Vries, global head of marketing and brand at Nissan, during a visit to South Africa last week.

“We are developing the technology that will lead to robo-taxis, not because we want to build robo-taxis, but because we want to make driving safer and more exciting,” he said. “A lot of people don’t realise how much technology is already in their cars. As an industry, we started a long time ago, from cruise control to antilock braking systems to power steering. Adoption rates are high because people want these technologi­es. And it will lead eventually to self-driving cars.

“We were the first company to launch intelligen­t cruise control. Today it is 15 years old. That has made it not only more convenient to drive on the highway, but also safer. The 360° view of the car makes it much easier to park. It will also be essential for autonomous vehicles.

“We developed forward emergency braking, which engages when something jumps in front of the car.

“There are many of those kinds of technologi­es that will give you much more confidence when you drive.

“When we combine all the individual technologi­es, add camera and radio sonar, and steer-by-wire, it will be possible for cars to drive by themselves.”

When Nissan demonstrat­es advanced technologi­es at events like the Consumer Electronic­s Show in Las Vegas, these are not mere concepts, De Vries pointed out. Even the brainto-vehicle system demonstrat­ed there in January, showing how brainwaves can be monitored to prepare the vehicle for driver actions, has real-world potential.

“In a world where the car knows what you will do half a second before, we can change the way braking, suspension and steering work. Are we going to commercial­ise this in the coming two years? No. But is it something that will happen in five-10 years? Definitely.” Coincident­ally, this week the new MD of Ford Southern and sub-Saharan Africa,

Neale Hill, made similar comments during the launch of the new Ford EcoSport crossover SUV in this country.

“We’ve just announced a separate company called Ford Autonomous Vehicles, to allow a group of people to explore the realms of what is possible. It’s a way of structurin­g ourselves so our core business today supports what will be core in future. It’s about catering for the near term and long term.

“Very soon, we’re going to have embedded modems in vehicles that will allow cars to talk to each other, but also to the city grid.

“We will be able to help create a city environmen­t that is more consumerfr­iendly and easier to move around in, but using the technology that’s already at our fingertips.”

Will this happen in the coming two years? No. In five-10 years? Definitely

Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter @art2gee and on YouTube

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