Status: 01/22/2023 09:43 a.m
Since the beginning of January, self-driving cars have been allowed to drive at speeds of up to 130 km/h – and thus also on the motorway. But it will probably be a while before autonomous cars are on the road in larger numbers. Why is that?
By Nele Roessler, NDR
Since the turn of the year, self-driving cars have been allowed to travel on German autobahns at speeds of up to 130 km/h. That’s a good twice as fast as was previously allowed. However, there are still strict requirements for man and machine.
Four times longer braking distance
A driver has to be in the car, he may not be sleeping, but he is allowed to read e-mails on his cell phone or read newspaper articles, for example. Autonomously driving cars could already be on the road in a similar way to those driven by people, including changing lanes. There are prototypes that can do that, says Steven Peters, professor of mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt. However, that does not mean that it is already technically and economically feasible for vehicle manufacturers.
What is needed above all is a sensor system that can see very far. Because every misjudgment has a much greater impact at 120 km/h than at 60. One reason is that the braking distance at 120 km/h is about four times as long as at 60. “If I want to change lanes on a freeway, then I have to I can look very, very far behind to be able to do that safely. I have to be able to estimate the speed very precisely. This system will probably only work in the best weather again.”
Commercial vehicles first
Peters also suspects that the systems will first come onto the market as commercial vehicles. “So heavy trucks on long-distance journeys. Especially in the USA, because I simply have very, very long distances there.”
But not only in the USA, but also in Europe, self-driving trucks are interesting for freight forwarders. Because there is a shortage of drivers. “That means it makes economic sense to automate. In other words: the system can also cost a lot.”
Lots of data required
Peters suspects that self-driving cars in inner cities will probably first be seen in China. Because especially in the city, the on-board computers need a lot of data to make decisions – they are available in China because there are cameras at many intersections. In addition, the Chinese government is willing to invest money in the infrastructure for autonomous cars. In Germany, however, it will take a few more years.
The traffic scientist Meike Jipp from the German Aerospace Center also sees it similarly: A kind of ghost car in which no one is sitting in it anymore, or a shuttle that drives people from A to B like a robot taxi – that will still happen take a while. “There will gradually be more and more system functionalities, until we’ve reached this stage of expansion.”
Completely autonomous not before 2030
Jipp has become cautious with forecasts because it often takes longer than expected to clarify technical issues. She therefore assumes that the autonomous car without a person behind the wheel will not be seen in Germany before 2030.