Aftermarket June 2022

JUNE 2022 AFTERMARKET 17 High driving automation (Level 4) If you just want to sit back and relax, a Level 4 car is the perfect fit. These AVs do not expect humans to take control at any point. In the event of an unexpected incident on the road, the vehicle is designed to simply pull over and stop safely. This said, these cars are not built to work in all conditions, which may therefore be limiting for some drivers. There is no denying that Level 4 AVs are a huge leap in innovative mobility, but sadly our road networks – for the time being – are too complicated to accommodate them. Hence, some believe that we will never see these cars populate our streets. Full driving automation (Level 5) Slightly more advanced than their Level 4 counterparts, Level 5 AVs are expected to operate uniquely on their own with no human input whatsoever. There is reason to think that these may be the future of our taxis and buses. Past predictions estimated that by 2021, there would be queues of autonomous cars waiting at the red traffic light, ready to drive off on their own as soon as they flashed green. It is fair to say that expectation was perhaps a bit too hopeful. As things stand, artificial intelligence is not advanced enough to reach that stage yet. Even Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, had to go back on his words. He had previously tweeted that by 2020 there would be “over a million cars with full self-driving, software, everything.” At the moment, we can only wait and hope to see if Level 3 vehicles make an appearance on our roads. We may still have to be patient for self-driving vehicles to accessorise British streets, but trials are happening on a regular basis – and progress is being made. For instance, Google’s self-driving car project Waymo has been working hard on the development of the Jaguar I-Pace, sister of the magnificent Jaguar E-Pace. It is a fully electric Level 3 AV with an in-built InControl, which includes great driving assistance features. These are many and varied, such as emergency braking, cruise control, lane keep assist, speed limiter, adaptive speed limiter, and traffic sign recognition. What’s more, in Ireland, Jaguar Land Rover is setting up a ‘smart city hub’ where self-driving car technology – and the Jaguar I- Pace, specifically – can safely be put to the test. The 7.5-mile road system will give developers the opportunity to test the vehicle’s sensors and gather data from a variety of driving scenarios. Our recent technological advancements bode well for the future of mobility. It may still be too soon to witness autonomous vehicles on our streets, but ongoing trials are ensuring that – when the time comes – AVs will be able to travel securely and sustainably. Ultimately, there is a lot to look forward to. www.grange.co.uk With a strong focus on safety, cybersecurity, technology, and public transport, the UK is actively preparing for the innovation in mobility ”