Photo: Semcon
People are overly-sensitive about their vehicles, we know that, and even though we tend not to think about those few miles our cars have on the clock when we take delivery of them, that doesn’t mean they don’t bug some of us.
But it’s not the mileage that’s the actual problem, but the fact somebody else sat in the driver’s seat and got to enjoy our pride and joy ahead of us. That’s the really distressing thought. You buy a new car, but it’s neither new, nor untouched.
A Swedish company plans to sort at least half of the problem out by making cars drive themselves during all the processes that unfold from the moment they leave the assembly line and until their new owners start their engine (or motor) for the first time.
It sounds like a pretty menial reason to develop something as complex as automated driving, but Semcon, the Swedish company in question, has help from the automakers. With most cars these days coming equipped with a wide range of sensors, all it needs to do to make its project – called “Born to Drive” – reality is develop the right software.
“What makes Born to Drive unique is that it is entirely a software solution,” Johan Isacson, Project Manager for Born to Drive told New Atlas in an interview. “This makes the system both cost-efficient and scalable. Since there is already a working prototype, the system could be implemented within just a few years.”
Right now, the project is still in its infancy and is only able to steer the vehicles from the production line to another spot in the factory where they would be collected by a worker. That is just a very small part of what the system is supposed to do when completed, but it’s a start.
The more important question is whether Semcon’s efforts couldn’t turn the company into yet another player in the autonomous tech business? If they can crack the software needed to navigate car parks and board trucks or ships, what’s keeping Semcom from allowing these vehicles to show off their skills on the road as well?
A Swedish company plans to sort at least half of the problem out by making cars drive themselves during all the processes that unfold from the moment they leave the assembly line and until their new owners start their engine (or motor) for the first time.
It sounds like a pretty menial reason to develop something as complex as automated driving, but Semcon, the Swedish company in question, has help from the automakers. With most cars these days coming equipped with a wide range of sensors, all it needs to do to make its project – called “Born to Drive” – reality is develop the right software.
“What makes Born to Drive unique is that it is entirely a software solution,” Johan Isacson, Project Manager for Born to Drive told New Atlas in an interview. “This makes the system both cost-efficient and scalable. Since there is already a working prototype, the system could be implemented within just a few years.”
Right now, the project is still in its infancy and is only able to steer the vehicles from the production line to another spot in the factory where they would be collected by a worker. That is just a very small part of what the system is supposed to do when completed, but it’s a start.
The more important question is whether Semcon’s efforts couldn’t turn the company into yet another player in the autonomous tech business? If they can crack the software needed to navigate car parks and board trucks or ships, what’s keeping Semcom from allowing these vehicles to show off their skills on the road as well?
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