Pole Position

摘要

The German Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer has made a bold announcement: “Germany will be the international number 1 in autonomous driving. We will be the first country in the world to bring autonomous vehicles from research laboratories onto roads: and used in daily operation. (…).” The next step has now been taken with the autonomous driving law that creates a legal framework to enable autonomous vehicles (level 4) [editor’s note: probably referring to automated vehicles] to operate regularly in defined operating areas on public roads. This regular operation could therefore start in 2022. The automotive industry will ensure the implementation and they will need to intensify their (already considerable) efforts in the domain of automated driving. Two competing approaches can be currently observed: a more evolutionary ?path via the continuous extension of available assistance systems, and a more revolutionary path via robotic vehicle fleets with safety drivers, in order to completely leapfrog the inter mediate levels SAE 2+ to 4 as fast as possible. The latter makes sense, since then there are no legacy issues; however, it is a huge leap. There is also an associated risk as surveys show that at the moment, a high percentage of people say they would not trust an autonomously driving vehicle.