The Swiss think tank and mobility lab Rinspeed is noted for its quirky and innovative takes on future mobility. Its latest effort, the trans-urban SUV Budii concept, does not disappoint. Based on BMW’s electric i3, riding on 19-inch Bobert alloys and clothed in bright anthracite paint with a terrain-mapping laser scanner atop its roof, Budii seeks to redefine human-machine interaction as it explores the future world of autonomous driving.

According to Rinspeed, a new generation of self-driving cars will do as we do, learning every day and getting better at mastering the array of complex challenges involved in the art of driving. By assimilating lessons learned from its daily drive experiences, interaction with other vehicles on its routes, and information from its surroundings, Budii will evolve to become a cognitive and intuitive autopilot…a sort of proactive companion. Or so Rinspeed imagines.

One of the signature elements in the Budii concept is a 7-axis robotic arm that repositions the steering wheel from driver to front passenger as desired. During automated driving it can park the steering wheel in the center so it’s out of the way, or even position the steering wheel as a handy table. Removable plexi worktables are also part of the package to enable work or doodling during an automated drive.

Refreshingly candid in the face of ever-optimistic and simplistic perspectives on automated driving, Rinspeed head Frank Rinderknecht shares that while autonomous driving will offer the opportunity to reduce traffic accidents and make traffic more people-friendly, even the best technology will not be perfect and that’s something we will have to accept. His take is that we should develop a healthy, but not blind, trust in the new capabilities of self-driving hardware and software being developed for the cars of the future.

Just about every major automaker is developing automated vehicle technology. Experts predict we’ll see the first highly automated production vehicles by 2020 with fully automated cars expected by 2025. Automation will come incrementally with more of these technologies becoming available with each new model year.

Already, vehicles with early forms of self-driving technology are in dealer showrooms, such as adaptive cruise control that automatically maintains a safe following distance from the car ahead and parking assistance that helps maneuver a car into parking spaces. Other available automated technologies include Lane Departure Warning, Obstacle Warning, and Blind Spot Detection. While most are passive systems that alert a driver to a hazardous condition, in the future these will be able to automatically take corrective action if a driver fails to react.

Most of the near-term technology augments a human driver in controlling the vehicle, similar to the autopilot used in airliners that allows the driver to take over at any time. Since today's computers and other electronics are now quicker than the human brain, on-board systems could also provide control in an emergency situation.

As an example of what’s coming soon, BMW's Traffic Light Assistant will communicate with traffic lights to inform a driver of the speed needed to match the timing of traffic lights. In the future, this could be done automatically. Traffic Jam Assistant, debuting in the BMW i3, maintains a safe distance between vehicles, controls speed and steering, stops the car in heavy traffic if necessary.  As long as the driver keeps one hand on the steering wheel, it keeps the car in its lane at speeds up to 25 mph.

There are several challenges to automated vehicles, not the least of which is cost since LIDAR (laser radar), ultrasound sensors, computer vision systems, and other electronics are expensive. However, following the known trajectory of advanced electronics in all facets of our lives, prices will surely drop dramatically with widespread use. 

Ford unveiled its automated Ford Fusion Hybrid research vehicle last month, a technology-packed vehicle intended to help pave the way toward autonomous driving. Now Ford is expanding its research efforts with the high-tech Fusion through new collaborations with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. This work will support Ford’s Blueprint for Mobility, which envisions a future of autonomous functionality in the years ahead.

While the automated Fusion Hybrid research vehicle uses many of the same technologies already found in the standard model, it also adds such high-tech features as four LiDAR sensors to generate a real-time 3D map of the car’s surrounding environment. Research with MIT will use advanced algorithms to help predict where moving vehicles and pedestrians could be in the future, thus providing a better sense of surrounding risks and enabling the vehicle to plan a path to avoid these risks. Ford’s work with Stanford will explore how the car’s sensors could see around obstacles. The goal of its multi-faceted collaborative work, Ford says, is to provide automated vehicles with ‘common sense.’