Automotive

Peugeot Citroën's self-driving car makes Paris to Bordeaux run

Peugeot Citroën's self-driving car makes Paris to Bordeaux run
An autonomous Peugeot Citroën has driven itself all the way from Paris to Bordeaux in a demonstration of the increasing viability of self-driving vehicles
An autonomous Peugeot Citroën has driven itself all the way from Paris to Bordeaux in a demonstration of the increasing viability of self-driving vehicles
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There are a plethora of instruments, controls, and driving aids assisting the PSA Peugeot Citroën autonomous vehicle to drive independently on open highways
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There are a plethora of instruments, controls, and driving aids assisting the PSA Peugeot Citroën autonomous vehicle to drive independently on open highways
An autonomous Peugeot Citroën has driven itself all the way from Paris to Bordeaux in a demonstration of the increasing viability of self-driving vehicles
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An autonomous Peugeot Citroën has driven itself all the way from Paris to Bordeaux in a demonstration of the increasing viability of self-driving vehicles
Increasing levels of automation in self-driving cars mean that legislation for their use must soon change to meet their capabilities
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Increasing levels of automation in self-driving cars mean that legislation for their use must soon change to meet their capabilities
PSA Peugeot Citroën envisage a driverless vehicle to be one bristling with intuitive controls and functions
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PSA Peugeot Citroën envisage a driverless vehicle to be one bristling with intuitive controls and functions
View gallery - 4 images

A PSA Peugeot Citroën driverless vehicle has journeyed 580 km (360 miles) on the motorway from Paris to Bordeaux entirely in autonomous mode. Automatically maintaining its speed to the road conditions and traffic, as well as independently changing lanes to pass slower traffic, the Peugeot Citroën completed the journey without incident and demonstrated the increasing viability of driverless motor vehicles.

Motoringto Bordeaux to participate in the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress (5 to 9 October), the car was in attendance to show off PSAPeugeot Citroën’s new autonomous technology along with its newly-developed car-to-carand car-to-infrastructure communication systems.

Theon-board sensors and car and infrastructure communications demonstrated are claimed to provide a raft of safetyfeatures, including pedestrian awareness and collision avoidance from informationtransmitted by cars ahead and via dynamic road signs designed to delivertailored messages to drivers.

There are a plethora of instruments, controls, and driving aids assisting the PSA Peugeot Citroën autonomous vehicle to drive independently on open highways
There are a plethora of instruments, controls, and driving aids assisting the PSA Peugeot Citroën autonomous vehicle to drive independently on open highways

The autonomous vehicle itself contained a vast array of on-board systems, including radar, automated braking, steering, and acceleration, GPS, and digital cameras, to name but a few. All working in concert with the master electronic control unit – and monitored remotely by a Peugeot Citroën control center – the autonomous vehicle is designed to be safer than driver-only vehicles, where hazards such as fatigue and human error are a major factor in collisions.

"The journey made by our prototype today proves that autonomous vehicles are no longer a matter of science fiction," said Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the managing board of PSA Peugeot Citroën. "This ushers in a new era of mobility, which I find truly exciting."

Increasing levels of automation in self-driving cars mean that legislation for their use must soon change to meet their capabilities
Increasing levels of automation in self-driving cars mean that legislation for their use must soon change to meet their capabilities

Much like the Mercedes-Benz autonomous truck recently tested on a stretch of Autobahn in Germany, the PSA Peugeot Citroën vehicle was permitted to drive on the highway with stringent protocols in place. With a driver ready to take control at any time, the vehicle's degree of autonomic control was set at what is known as "Level 3"; where the the vehicle is able to accelerate, brake, steer, and control the vehicle.

Peugeot Citroën also included what it calls the Scoop@F system, which allows not only for the autonomous controls and mechanisms mentioned earlier, but a range of more intuitive vehicle controls. Such things include adaptive cruise controls that manages vehicle speeds as standard systems do, but also allows for upcoming traffic light changes, hills, obstacles, and traffic flow via intrinsic communications systems collecting data from other vehicles and traffic infrastructure.

PSA Peugeot Citroën envisage a driverless vehicle to be one bristling with intuitive controls and functions
PSA Peugeot Citroën envisage a driverless vehicle to be one bristling with intuitive controls and functions

Unlike many autonomous concepts, however, PSA Peugeot Citroën says its vehicle will be fully-capable of "Level 5" autonomous control (subject to legislative approval) in the not-too-distant-future.

Slated for release to the public by 2018, Peugeot Citroën customers will be able to purchase vehicles fitted with all the features demonstrated in this most recent test run (aka "Level 3") which, the company believes, will greatly enhance customer safety by relieving the driver of fatigue from the tedium of long-distance driving or inattention.

The short video below shows some of the progress toward the autonomous car from the point of view of PSA Peugeot Citroën research.

Source: PSA Peugeot Citroën

Autonomous car: PSA Group roadmap to self-driving functions

View gallery - 4 images
11 comments
11 comments
EddieG
Robot cars are in development around the western world. The headlines have appeared weekly for a year or more. The mystery is, why? I have never heard a single person in my life say "If only my car could drive itself." Nobody wants them. But, they wouldn't be in development everywhere if a truckload of profit wasn't expected. Do these corporations know something they aren't telling?
Stephen N Russell
Now test car in the US from NY to LA or NY to Miami & from say Paris to Berlin or Moscow? Use on TV show Top Gear. Compete with Benz & Audi, Google Lexus models in the US. Test in So CA area.
LordInsidious
EddieG a lot of people want them, hear people say all the time they can't wait for self-driving cars.
Rigby5
Autonomous cars are a terrible idea. Not only are the software and sensors not nearly up to real world conditions like rain, snow, dust, wind blown debris, construction zones, bad driver avoidance, etc., but will bankrupt makers whenever there is an accident. It will make cars cost too much, end drivers spending more on engines or performance, be used by criminals to commit crimes like bomb delivery or murder, etc. There are literally hundreds of reasons why this should never even be attempted.
Carl246
@EddieG speak for yourself pal, I for one would love one of these cars. Imagine having to travel five hours and not have to worry about what's going on out there, but instead being able to read or watch a movie or any number of things that we'd rather do. The only one's who will have any trouble with this new technology will be those who don't want to give up their right to drive. You know, the kind of person who runs a red light/stop sign but knows that they couldn't do that in an automated car. Jerks in other words.
Carl246
Bob Flint
They did not mention the time frame that it took to drive the distance, nor the cost of this vehicle, which is at the heart of the issue.
Time is money, but also your freedom to be in control, to speed to break laws. Any and all fully automated self driving vehicles will/must be programed to obey every single road law, basically a perfect driver. Well we are not in a perfect world, and no one will be paying astronomical costs to achieve the perfected transportation mode. Simply stomp on the accelerator and disengage what ever level was programmed, assuming the human in charge did not make an error in judgment and forgot to engage the various levels in the first place. Lawyers will love this new venue, and it will be short-lived.
Software preprogramed to fakebelieve that your diesel is green, while you blatantly pay through the nose...is just the tip of the iceberg...
ezeflyer
This is the future. But I wonder what all those radar microwaves are going to do to future generations?
Mel Tisdale
All well and good, until you watch this TED Talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/todd_humphreys_how_to_fool_a_gps
GlenHale
If they use Blue tooth and Google maps I would be keeping well away.
norma.skjold@gmail.com
Ignore the negative comments. This is the car which opens the world to all those - like me - imprisoned by handicaps. Just make it accessible to the wheelchair crowd (and move it to America) and we'll be lined up outside your door.
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