National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has defined five levels of vehicle automation from 0 to 4. Here’s the breakdown: Level 0, no automation; Level 1, at least one specific control function, such as pre-charged brakes that can help you stop quickly; Level 2, at least two functions designed to work together, such as adaptive cruise control in combination with lane centring; Level 3, the driver is able to drive without using hands or feet but is still expected to be available to take control
CANADIAN INNOVATION
Ottawa-based QNX Software Systems, a subsidiary of BlackBerry, produces a range of connected-vehicle software solutions that autonomous vehicles need to operate safely. “Connectivity to the outside world through mobile devices and built-in modems, as well as between sensors and microprocessors within the car, will play a key role in autonomous vehicles,” says Andrew Poliak, the company’s global director of business development. At the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas, QNX presented two concept vehicles — a Maserati Quattroporte GTS and a Jeep Wrangler — that integrated third-party and QNX technologies, including
30 | CPA MAGAZINE | JUNE/JULY 2015
— the Google car is an example of limited self-driving automa- tion; Level 4, no human intervention necessary. “You can already buy cars that are partially autonomous,” says
Kirk. “Intelligent cruise control, braking for pedestrians and self-parking are common options on many of today’s automo- biles.” Most automobile manufacturers have indicated that they will have self-driving vehicles in their 2020 to 2025 lineups. We have five to 10 years to come to grips with the future,
sensors, cameras, navigation engines, cloud-based services, speech interfaces and acoustics software. In the Maserati, QNX technology connected the instrument cluster to the radio and entertainment system so that when you access a map, the cluster can give you a turn-by-turn indicator of your next manoeuvre. In the Jeep, QNX showcased how its technology works with advanced driver assistance systems to get information from street signs. “We married a navigation solution with predictive informa- tion on the route to a vision algorithm that could detect a street sign, identify the speed, compare the two and alert you if they were different. These are capabilities we already support,” says Poliak.
— RP
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