Top Trends Advancing Autonomous Vehicles Development in 2023 - What’s Cooking Lately?

1st March 2023: Newsletter discussing top trends advancing autonomous vehicles development in 2023.

It isn’t the ‘Age of the Transformers’ yet!

Bumble Bee might still be a stark reality, an autonomous machine that derived its fictionality from a mastermind plot visualized in the mind of a genius. 

That being said, there’s no denying the fact that autonomous vehicles are gradually becoming more and more advanced by the day. There’s been great progress, relatively. 

When the world was riding on the success of Tesla’s Autopilot, Mercedes Benz launched the unprecedented ‘Drive Pilot’ automated system in January, with us tech freaks slapping the bass.

Advancements in sensor technology, LiDAR, 4D radar imaging, etc., are paving the way for a fully-autonomous vehicle. These technologies are being used to gather specific data in real time that enables the vehicle to take timely decisions. 

In 2023, autonomous vehicles are taking the sweet spot. It’s a year that has seen many startups, SMBs, and tech automotive giants take huge strides in enhancing driving autonomy capabilities. 

Let’s take a look at the latest trends and developments that are consistently enhancing the efficiency of these self-driving vehicles. 

We’re at Stage 3 Autonomy Currently!

That’s a far claim we’re making, but thanks to Mercedes’ Drive Pilot autonomous driving system, it’s a reality. Stage 3 autonomous vehicles have finally made it to the picture.

Ok, so let’s not just get too ahead and get your neural networks filtering what Stage 3 autonomy means! 

To get there, you need a frame of reference. When you read the news highlights or see a pop-up on your smartphone featuring an AV-related briefing, it’s important to understand that these vehicles are not fully autonomous.

According to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), there are 6 levels of driving automation. Yes, you heard that right. Level zero is manual driving, which has absolutely no level of automation involved. 

Level 1 features a cruise control system where drivers can monitor speeds and take necessary actions. It’s only relatively that level 2 driving automation was achieved with tech giants like Tesla and GM bringing the concept to the roads. 

In the level 2 automation system, the vehicle is integrated with ADAS (Advanced driving assistant system), radars, HD cameras, and other imaging systems to control steering and acceleration pedal movements. However, the driver has to be on full alert all the time to acknowledge high-risk situations. 

That’s when Mercedes made a huge announcement earlier this year in 2023 that its Driver Pilot model essentially delivers Stage 3 driver automation ie conditional automation, where the vehicle can perform almost all tasks related to driving with human oversight. 

That’s a huge achievement indeed! It says how much this nascent technology has advanced. Many companies have prototypes that have shown similar success but still have to make it to production and homologation rules. 

Stage 4 and the ultimate Stage 5, where vehicles can drive absolutely by themselves, is still a distant future, but we’re in the sweet spot now, as we mentioned before. 

Top 4 Autonomous Vehicle Trends That are Propelling the Tech in 2023

We’ve curated a list of 4 technology trends that are seeing rapid advancements and consequently enhancing the operational efficiency of autonomous vehicles. 

1. Internet of Vehicles

It may all sound too enticing, but the internet of vehicles (IoV) is just a stretch from the IoT. Unlike science fiction, where interconnectivity and hacking have a lot in common, the actual real-world scenario of IoV is where vehicles gain real-time information from their surroundings that enables the driver or the vehicle’s actuators to take necessary actions.

Automotive companies like Motional are leading when it comes to developing IoT-based sensor and radar systems that detect data and initiate responses. 

This year in 2023, there’s been a lot of progress in the field of IoV with vehicles deriving traffic information, weather alerts, parking lot info, etc, through the use of sensors and radar technology. LiDAR has seen significant use cases in the AV system as its high sensitivity transmission, and reception capabilities help in the real-time surrounding study. 

2. ADAS

Responding to inherent traffic changes and maneuvering the vehicle through obstacle collision zones is key to the successful development of an autonomous vehicle. Major developments in ADAS or advanced driver assistant systems are helping to achieve greater levels of self-driving transparency. 

Tech giants like Bosch have developed crucial ADAS solutions, partnering with Mercedes Benz to bring the technology to the market as a driver-assistant model. The technology helps in adaptive cruise control or ACC and regulates the speed of the car upon perceiving incoming traffic or risk situations. 

The combination of sensor technologies such as LiDAR, radar, and ultrasonic sensors is what has made ADAS so powerful in these times. With 5G taking the hot seat, response and connectivity have become much more efficient and enhanced data-detection processes. 

3. Artificial Intelligence

Deep learning is the core aspect of the automation part of autonomous vehicles. It’s based on various training models and real-time data acquisition that AVs can take calculative decisions. Recent developments in deep learning and artificial intelligence have enabled self-driving cars to respond to high-risk situations and counter obstacle-tracking problems due to weather conditions.

Route planning and optimization are becoming increasingly effective with AI-encoded programs embedded in the sensors and actuators of the vehicle. A greater part of what deep learning has achieved is making machines think logically and take decisions by themselves. This has resulted in improved navigation and object-detection capabilities of an AV. 

AI is also significantly enhancing the driver experience by facilitating gesture and voice recognition, and analyzing the moods of the driver to alert them or provide entertainment by turning on their favorite music and even telling them a joke after seeking permission. The drive is now becoming more personalized, with AI taking the reigns. 

4. AV Cyber Security

As cool and convenient as the concept of an autonomous vehicle sounds, the technology has potential risks and, if not credibly authenticated, can lead to many problems. The vehicles are connected with infrastructure, vehicles, electrical networks, grids, and various other systems via the internet. That’s why there are immense chances for cyber threats and vulnerabilities. 

Advancements in AV-based cyber security in 2023 ensure to a greater extent that dangerous and malicious parties cannot hack into the system and cause system failure or loss of vehicle control. Several companies are deploying VPN-based networks to secure data transmission and reception and facilitate superior security measures. 

Final Words!

That’s the ongoing scenario of autonomous vehicle technology developments. As time progresses, fully-autonomous vehicles that don’t require driver assistance will become a reality. These computational technologies that drive the success of AVs play a great role in the adaptation of several other real-world use cases.

It’s only time before we see the inevitable!