In a recent interview Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk announced being “very close” to launching a level 5 autonomous driving vehicle and that he is investing billions to achieve this milestone quickly. The key difference between Level 5 and currently existing Level 4 vehicles is to make cars completely self-driving and autonomous without needing any human control. But concretely, how far are we from seeing fully autonomous driving vehicles on our streets?
Waymo, for example, part of Alphabet, is currently considered to have developed the most advanced autonomous vehicle in the market. Waymo’s vehicles have driven an aggregate 20 million miles, more than any other autonomous vehicle, within a fully connected environment, supported by its advanced machine learning algorithms and interaction with the ubiquitous Google maps. Waymo’s cars have been tested to identify obstacles and distance of road features and statistically reducing driving accidents.
In reality, to meet the expectation to simplify the driving experience and improve safety on the road, a fully connected ecosystem is necessary: through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, autonomous cars must transfer information with each other and at the same time, through vehicle-to-network data flow, cars must share information with urban infrastructures to solve problems connected with the traffic congestions, parking or other impediments.
A fully connected ecosystem is extremely data-hungry, making connected vehicles a potential massive source of data generation:
Chart: Data Comparison, Today’s iPhone vs. 2050 Autonomous Vehicle, source Morgan Stanley
Tech and communication companies are playing a key role in providing the digital infrastructure required by autonomous vehicles to interact with the multiple elements surrounding them by transmitting data through the 5G network.
According to Market Research, the global autonomous vehicle market is expected to rise to $65.3Billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 29.2% between 2016 and 2027. Today we are still at the early stages of this disruptive innovation wave supported by the synergistic interaction between AI, Machine Learning, and the digitalization of the automotive industry.
What is emerging right now, is the fact that automotive and tech companies are working together to evolve from specializing on specifics features like software or hardware, to being comprehensive, full-service providers for new sophisticated and generally tech-savvy customers.
The information in this article should not be regarded as a description of services provided by Delian Partners SA. The opinions expressed in this article are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product. It is only intended to provide education about the financial industry. The views reflected in this article are subject to change at any time without notice.
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