The 2017 Volvo S90 isn’t very sexy, at least in comparison to the radical self-driving concept cars that are purportedly on the way from U.S. automakers. But it’s the first Volvo to include semi-autonomous features as a standard. Here’s a look at when automakers have said they will release their first self-driving car, and options until then.
մDZ:Volvo’s “unsupervised autonomous vehicles” are expected to . This year, as part of its , 100 self-driving Volvos will roll out onto Swedish streets and not be handled by engineers but regular people.
Until then, the 2017 Volvo S90 includes the second-generation of Pilot Assist, which takes over driving duties at speeds of up to 80 mph, keeps a set distance between cars and offers automatic braking at intersections. Drivers must still sit in the driver’s seat and touch the steering wheel frequently.
Audi: for its first automated vehicle to hit the market. This year, the , a feature meant for self-driving during sluggish traffic jams. The car takes oversteering, gas and brakes if speeds are slower than 35 mph. Until then, the 2017 Audi A4 and Q7 offer Traffic Jam Assist. Drivers can be hands-off and let the car take over in rush hour, but they must touch the steering wheel every 15 seconds.
General Motors:No date, but the automaker said it would begin producing a test fleet of this year at its plant in Orion Township, Mich. GM, which invested $500 million in Lyft to build a AV network, is already testing driverless cars in California and Arizona. Until then, a number of its brands do offer semi-autonomous features on some models, including the Cadillac CT6.
Tesla:at the automaker’s factory since October 2016 are getting the hardware to be a fully self-driving car. That includes eight 360-degree cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors and a forward-facing radar system to help in heavy rain, fog and dust.Tesla hopes to push out the software update to turn on complete autonomy in 2018.
Before that day, the company will test drive a fully autonomous car from Los Angeles to New York this year.Until then, Tesla has its Autopilot, the infamous feature that lets drivers let the car make decisions regarding steering, changing lanes and stopping.
Tesla’s Autopilot, however, still needs an alert driver. After the death of one Tesla owner who was reportedly while his car was on Autopilot, Tesla tweaked the that they need to take over again.
Cadillac:Owned by General Motors, Cadillac is one brand that isn’t working on a fully autonomous car. The luxury carmaker that it builds its cars for people who like driving. But Cadillac hasn’tforsaken new technology.
The new 2017 CTS performance sedan is the first car in the market to add V2V, or vehicle-to-vehicle communication allowing cars to “talk” to one another. Dedicated short-range communications, or DSRC, can handle 1,000 messages per second from vehicles up to 1,000 feet away. It’s a way for cars to get a heads-up on traffic hazards ahead or when lights are about to turn red.
The CTS won’t be alone for long. In December, theU.S. Department of Transportation that all future light-duty vehicles include this new technology.
Ford: 2021. That’s how soon Ford expects to start mass production of driverless cars. The intention is for ride-hailing or ride-sharing services, and the cars won’t have steering wheels. The companies that develop LiDAR, machine vision and 3-D mapping.
In February, it for robotics and artificial intelligence. It has also expanded its Silicon Valley operations to take advantage of more than 40 startups working in the mobility space. The company is currently testing at least 30 self-driving Ford Fusion Hybrids in California, Arizona and Michigan. Until then, Ford offers driver assist features in its F-150 truck and other vehicles that decelerate the car around a curb or help out with parallel parking.
Volkswagen:The design of thewas unveiled in March. The full Level 5 autonomous vehicle will not only drive on its own, it will talk to passengers and act as a personal assistant. The four-seater has no steering wheel, pedals or ETA.
Alphabet’s Waymo(part of the Google empire): Google started with souping up Lexus RX450h crossovers and then built its own self-driving pods. Last year, it expanded into tests with minivans.
Uber: Running self-driving car experiments in Phoenix, Arizona and Pittsburgh. It pulled out of San Francisco last year after the state . But this month, it said issues were resolved and it would autonomous vehicle tests. In February, it partnered with Daimler to work on self-driving cars. Uber , the self-driving truck company, last year. An Otto-equipped tractor-trailer drove on Colorado’s Interstate 25 in October to deliver beer to Colorado Springs.
Mercedes-Benz: drives itself but also has a manual driving system. Until then, the automaker offers its as an option in the new. The featurekeeps the car a certain distance behind vehicles.
Toyota: The Japanese automaker showed off its Concept-I car earlier this year. The company hasn’t given a date for the launch but , Toyota says that its Level 4 cars, which handle all driving duties in an set geo-fenced area, are “five to 10 years away.”
