Mobileye to launch robotaxis in Germany next year -CEO
07/09/2021 16:10
By Hyunjoo Jin
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The chief executive of
Intel Corp's INTC.O self-driving vehicle technology unit
Mobileye said it plans an initial deployment of 50 autonomous
taxis in Munich, Germany next year, and added that rival Tesla
Inc's TSLA.O driver assistant system is not "safe enough."
Mobileye said it hopes to remove safety drivers from the
robotaxis by the end of next year and scale up the technology
across Germany and other European countries later this decade
upon regulatory approval.
Mobileye on Tuesday unveiled vehicles equipped with its
self-driving system that will be used for commercial, driverless
ride-hailing services that it plans to provide with German
mobility service provider SIXT.
Self-driving tech firms like Waymo have yet to successfully
deploy autonomous vehicles beyond limited areas, hampered by
cost and technical and regulatory challenges.
Mobileye, a former supplier of Tesla, develops a
camera-centric self-driving system similar to Tesla's, but plans
to add sensors for robotaxies, CEO Amnon Shashua said. Sensors
like lidars, which use lasers similar to how radar sensors use
radio waves, cost more but enhance safety of self-driving
vehicles, he said.
"Even though we can power a full self driving vehicle with
only cameras, we feel that at this point in time, it's not safe
enough," he said at an embargoed press briefing ahead of the IAA
Mobility event in Munich.
He said additional sensors would provide robustness to its
self-driving system to prove that it is much better than human
drivers when it comes to reducing accidents.
U.S. regulators have been probing the safety of what Tesla
calls "Full Self-driving" capability, which helps drivers stay
in lanes and steer on highways, following a series of accidents
including a fatal crash in Texas. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2Q51X2
Mobileye broke ties with the electric car maker following a
fatal accident in Florida in 2016.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by David Gregorio)
((hyunjoo.jin@thomsonreuters.com; 82-2-3704-5685; Reuters
Messaging: hyunjoo.jin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))