Monday 5th September 2011

Pop Didn't Eat Itself, Will BMWs Drive Themselves?

The tech's advancing in that direction, but nobody's saying 'when'...

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Close your eyes and hope for the best?

Cars requiring zero engagement from the driver are the antithesis of everything PH stands for, but we can't ignore the fact they could be on the way.

Well OK, we have tried to ignore it mostly, but when BMW invited us along to have a go in their 'autonomous' 5 Series, a car which is capable (they say) of driving entirely on its own, burying our head in the sand any longer seemed a bit pointless. Besides, there was lunch...

So how does it all work? The 5 Series in question has a total of 12 sensors on the outside of the car sending information to a series of modems housed in the boot. The modems communicate with a super trick GPS system, along with next generation versions of BMW's active cruise control and lane detection systems.

It wasn't me, officer...

The driver can override the systems at any time (My God, they let people control that thing..? There'll be carnage! Ed.), and the Beemer will only drive independently when it's settled into a motorway cruise. So it's up to you to get it there in the first place, and turn yourself off when you're ready. At which point it all feels a bit weird. It also puts the job 'motoring writer' on the danger list because, well, nobody wants to read about being a passenger in a 5 Series...

Actually, the driver is not completely dispensable as yet. The prototype we, er, 'drove' can only take over on the motorway, so A-roads and B-roads are out of the question. Neither can it deal with road works on the motorway so the driver still has to keep an eye on things. Impressively, however, it can change lanes to overtake slow traffic, and it conscientiously sticks to the inside lane where possible.

So how soon will it be before we begrudgingly hand over the keys and let the car do all the work? Not for a good long while yet. For starters, the technology is still being honed, and BMW refuses to admit it wants to put the self-driving 5 Series - or anything like it - into production.

The brains of the operation - in the boot

Instead, the car will be used as a test bed for future electronic driving aids, they say, some of which are on the way already.

For instance there's a system under development called 'Emergency Stop Assist' which keeps an eye on the driver's physical well being and pulls the car over if he or she is in dire straits, while 'Congestion Assist' allows the car to trundle along in heavy traffic of its own accord.

BMW wouldn't tell us how close either one was to production, but they do say we'll see Congestion Assist first. Next 7 Series anyone?

[minicab]

As I'm sure most of PH would agree, I'm against cars driving themselves...

However, congestion assist sounds very useful in a big executive car. When stuck in heavy congestion on a motorway, if the car could creep by itself using the radar cruise system to monitor distance from the car in front - it would certainly reduce 'frustration levels' to the driver.

Not quite sure how it would deal though with people 'barging' their way into your lane because it seems to be moving quicker!

[Ozzie Osmond]

I imagine a car which is programmed to drive itself in UK could become quite "interesting" when taken across the Channel for your summer holidays!

[minicab]

Ozzie Osmond said:

I imagine a car which is programmed to drive itself in UK could become quite "interesting" when taken across the Channel for your summer holidays!

Sure it wont do a worse job than some Brits that I've seen

[jp-speed-triple]

Given the royal pain in the arse driving on a British motorways is....I'm all for it.

Maybe if all modern cars used this tech...and it was linked up, tailgating/lane diving/aggressive no hope idiot behavior would go away and the system wouldn't grind to a halt (at the sight of an accident on the OTHER carriage way, for example).

Let the computer deal with it till you find a piece of road that's actually worth the effort, then switch it off.

[anonymous-user]

I'm all for this system as long as it is interactive with other BMW's (or even other german cars)

i.e. Car in the outside lane is only a crappy 320d, my 330d comes up behind, settles at the radar guided safe distance and wirelessly sends a "pass request" to 320d, which is forced to comply at the first safe moment, so 320d automatically pulls over, and my 330d can then ram the point home that the stupid enthnic peace bicyclist driver has bought the wrong engined version........ ;-)

[Du1point8]

This will be awesome... only when they add a feature that gives the driver a slap when they try and use the middle lane when nothing is there and takes over and puts them back in the inside lane...

No more MLM.

[Rawwr]

Article said:

and it conscientiously sticks to the inside lane where possible

Yes, more of this! Get all the spackers out of the way.

[Codswallop]

I don't like being driven around by other people, let alone a computer, which given my experience of them seem to like to crash and or reset themselves at the most inopportune moments.

[minicab]

Actually, the lane monitors should be fitted as standard to all cars. Not to warn you when 'drifting' but to detect when there is an empty lane to your left that you should be warning. It should then give an audible warning (akin to an annoying seat belt warning you get in most modern cars) to remind the driver to pull in to the left.

[prand]

Totally for this for motorways. I like driving, but I can live without hours & hours on a mind numbing motorway. I would love to have a car where I could glide onto a "transit lane" on the M1 and be able to sleep all the way from London-Leeds, if wi wasn't sleeping, I could sit there doing some work or watching films & TV.

If I knoew that I cold travel at a constant 60mph then I would be happy with a drop in speed (and fuel usage) if the journey time was guaranteed and I could get on with something else while getting there.

[Deva Link]

I'm sure many manufacturers are doing work in this area. GM have been doing it for years - there's a video of a closed of highway in California and driverless cars charging along.

Google's driveless cars crashed into each other the other day!

[S800VXR]

Whilst I can see the overall rational related to this can we really make something so advanced work in a society so fked up? I'm not being rude here but its like trying to make a pentium processor fit a hammer, never the twain shall meet as we already have an archaic system of transport which can not be addapted to fit this type of system without being totally revised... so why bother. Stop waisting time making lazy peoples lifes even easier (so they get fatter!) and start looking at Hydrogen or truelly recyclable systems of propulsion.
I've not no issue driving a prius or similar so long as it sound good and gives me the same feeling a 500hp petrol monster would.

[MitchT]

Given how increasingly flaky modern cars are becoming as they rely more and more on fragile tech, I'd be very reluctant to hand control over altogether. What is currently a reliability issue will turn into a safety issue.

[cosdog]

Cars that drive themselves is not something I agree with on any level. On one hand its kinda pointless, if you still have to be there and monitor what the system is doing. Should they become a reality they will, no doubt, be reliable but there is no way that you would be encouraged to start reading a book (a la Will Smith in I-Robot) while the car is driving itself, as the manufacturer would always urge you to supervise the cars systems. Whish would make motorway driving even more tedious, you can't properly switch off, but you also have nothing to do.

Slightly more concerning is something that can't be engineered out. Human nature is to evaluate danger based on previous experience. So, even though you will be told to pay attention to what the car is doing, after doing the same trip a large number of times your brain will fail to see this as a hazardous activity and switch off anyway. At which point if something does happen, your first indication would be (presumably) an accident. It already happens when people are driving routes they drive every day, but somehow this feels different. It will make travelling at 70mph in a ton and a half of metal seem even safer than it does today, which could make people even more complacent about it.

Also, we already have cars that drive themselves. Big ones. With lots of seats. They're called busses. If you don't want to drive your own car, then get the damn bus and get off the road.

[StottyZr]

prand said:

Totally for this for motorways. I like driving, but I can live without hours & hours on a mind numbing motorway. I would love to have a car where I could glide onto a "transit lane" on the M1 and be able to sleep all the way from London-Leeds, if wi wasn't sleeping, I could sit there doing some work or watching films & TV.

If I knoew that I cold travel at a constant 60mph then I would be happy with a drop in speed (and fuel usage) if the journey time was guaranteed and I could get on with something else while getting there.

I agree. Whilst wafting/hooning its completly pointless. But for a nice motorway cruise, possibly something work related it would be bliss. Especially in heavy traffic where no driving enjoyment is to be hard.

[Andysywv]

In the unlikely (and unwanted) event of this tech becoming the norm, surely there will be no need to have a driving test ?

[J4CKO]

Max_Torque said:

I'm all for this system as long as it is interactive with other BMW's (or even other german cars)

i.e. Car in the outside lane is only a crappy 320d, my 330d comes up behind, settles at the radar guided safe distance and wirelessly sends a "pass request" to 320d, which is forced to comply at the first safe moment, so 320d automatically pulls over, and my 330d can then ram the point home that the stupid enthnic peace bicyclist driver has bought the wrong engined version........ ;-)

Ahem, 335D/335i/M3.....

Anyway, I guess the engine is irrelevant as it will stick to limits and not use maximum acceleration.

And how would it cope with a 300 bhp Saab, hope it would interact with defunct Swedish manufactured cars as well as I wouldnt want to be held up, and we all need to bow down to the Mercedes Sprinter.

[ellisd82]

Anything to get rid of middle lane hoggers woul do, like a idiot seeking missile perhaps...
This tech is good for traffic and slow moving, bit like cruisecontrole but with more going on. Think its a decent idea for motorways, but would need turning off for the A and B roads.

[Dagnut]

Max_Torque said:

I'm all for this system as long as it is interactive with other BMW's (or even other german cars)

i.e. Car in the outside lane is only a crappy 320d, my 330d comes up behind, settles at the radar guided safe distance and wirelessly sends a "pass request" to 320d, which is forced to comply at the first safe moment, so 320d automatically pulls over, and my 330d can then ram the point home that the stupid enthnic peace bicyclist driver has bought the wrong engined version........ ;-)

but you're both driving diesels

[mrmr96]

prand said:

Totally for this for motorways. I like driving, but I can live without hours & hours on a mind numbing motorway. I would love to have a car where I could glide onto a "transit lane" on the M1 and be able to sleep all the way from London-Leeds, if wi wasn't sleeping, I could sit there doing some work or watching films & TV.

If I knoew that I cold travel at a constant 60mph then I would be happy with a drop in speed (and fuel usage) if the journey time was guaranteed and I could get on with something else while getting there.

Mate, what you're dreaming about is already here. It's a "train".