What do we mean when we say consumer AV?

When talking about autonomous cars many of us envision something we might see on the big screen or on TV. In these scenes, our hero is sitting in a car preoccupied and not paying attention to the road or napping, while the car drives itself. The car itself would be driving, often at high speed and sometimes suspended in the air, it might be missing its steering wheel and could even be arguing with its passenger.  

The Sci-Fi representation of AVs offers our collective imagination a fantastic future and serves as an effective storytelling device, but it is also a rather simplistic approach to a complex and fascinating technology. These on-screen vehicles are missing a core value of autonomous driving solutions - the car does not work alone or counter the person in it, it is a joint effort by both human and machine. 

Human vs. machine: who’s the boss? 

Autonomous driving is a spectrum that has various levels. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), numbered them from 0 (no autonomy) to 5 (full autonomy, under all conditions), but since Prof. Amnon Shashua introduced a new taxonomy, it is easier for many to understand this concept with a simple observation—who supervises whom? 

It is important to note that automated driving capabilities already exist, making our roads safer. Our cars prevent us from drifting between lanes, provide braking in case of an emergency, and remind us to slow down. Our hands are on the steering wheel, our eyes are on the road, but in a way, the car supervises us while we drive and acts when needed. Mobileye ADAS and Cloud-Enhanced Driver-Assist™ are such solutions that allow the car to affect our driving passively or actively.  

The final feature in the ADAS category and the next level of automated driving capabilities reverses the roles between the driver and the car. It is called Mobileye SuperVision™ and it’s a hands-off/eyes-on platform, meaning the driver is watching the road and supervising the car as it drives and maneuvers within a specified Operational Design Domain (ODD). Utilizing 11 cameras and proprietary Mobileye technology, the platform allows the driver to sit behind the wheel and to only engage when needed as he or she watches the road and monitors the drive within the ODD. Some car makers already offer services built on this platform for highway hands-off/eyes-on driving with urban soon to follow. Most recently the Volkswagen Group announced it is intensifying its collaboration with Mobileye, as the two companies are set to bring new automated driving functions to series production built from SuperVision. 

Synergy that brings back time 

In addition to Mobileye SuperVision, Mobileye Chauffeur™ has also been named by VW Group for series production. Chauffeur represents an even further step towards full autonomous driving as a hands-off/eyes-off system. The Chauffeur platform allows the driver and the car to reach a much higher level of synergy and trust, as drivers can take their eyes off the road and direct their attention elsewhere, in certain areas and roads (like highways and on/off ramps) within the ODD, gaining back time, while also being ready to step in in case the car signals it needs their attention. 

"We wanted to come up with something that consumers could understand... so the first question is who is driving?" Prof. Shai Shalev-Shwartz explains human-machine AV synergy at Bloomberg AI

Mobileye Chauffeur builds on the different technologies mentioned above. It is a consumer AV system that is cost-effective, operational in various environments and areas, suitable for different car models, and ready for market. It offers automakers the option to preserve their unique brand and reputation by customizing certain aspects of the autonomous driving experience, maintaining their style, and thanks to Mobileye’s mapping technology - REM™, these features are not restricted by geography. Additionally, Mobileye’s True Redundancy™ approach, which is powered by two independent, standalone systems which complement one another: a camera system and a radar-lidar system. Combining these elements creates a higher level of safety for an autonomous driving experience that mimics the driving style of other road users. 

This new level of synergy gives autonomy to drivers (over their time) and cars (over the driving). It shows autonomous driving is not just a futuristic vehicle that can drive by itself on the silver screen, but rather a spectrum of capabilities that work best when the car and the driver assist each other and are in-sync while driving, overseeing each other keeping the journey safe.