ITS World Congress 2021: Stellantis takes stock of the L3 autonomous driving project
The Stellantis Group announced an initial review of its contributions to the L3-Pilot project for autonomous driving at the ITS World Congress (October 11–15). The event also included driving demonstrations on highways. During the four-year project, which involved a global network of 34 partners, including suppliers, research institutes, road traffic authorities, and other vehicle manufacturers, Stellantis' Research and Advanced Technologies teams led the driving trials.
The project involved a total of:
- 70 vehicles equipped with autonomous driving functions at 14 pilot locations in seven countries
- 750 professional drivers with experience in SAE Level 3 functions, either as drivers or passengers
- 400,000 kilometers traveled on highways, half of which were in autonomous mode and the other half as reference
- 24,000 kilometers driven in urban areas, 22,200 of which were in autonomous mode and 1,800 km as reference.
“Stellantis' participation in the L3Pilot project and its leadership role in the pilot phase clearly demonstrate our commitment to the development of autonomous driving technologies,” explained Harald Wester, Chief Engineering Officer of Stellantis.
He emphasized the importance of such international projects, stating they contribute to making automated technologies safe and reliable before they hit the market. “They are also an essential part of our customer-centric end-to-end software strategy,” added Yves Bonnefont, Chief Software Officer at Stellantis.
In SAE Level 3 autonomous driving, the driver no longer needs to constantly monitor the driving situation but must be able to take control when the system requests it. According to the company, the European flagship project for research and innovation, L3Pilot, is one of the most significant projects for the future of automated driving as it focuses on testing and evaluating the technology as a safe and efficient mobility solution under real traffic conditions. Technical aspects, driving behavior, user acceptance, and impacts on road traffic and safety are all being assessed.
Depicting Classic Everyday Situations
The pilot phase encompassed a wide range of driving situations such as parking, overtaking on highways, driving through urban intersections, and situations in local traffic. The following automated driving functions of the third level were tested:
- Highway Chauffeur: Driving at high speeds and automated lane changes • Traffic Jam Chauffeur: Slow driving in congested traffic
- Remote-controlled Parking: Situations involving parallel or diagonal parking spaces
- Home-Zone: The system "remembers" repeated maneuvers for parking in and out of parking spaces.
The feedback from all partners is now expected to help define the necessary system requirements and establish a code of best practices. L3Pilot has made a significant contribution to testing autonomous driving functions, analyzing the performance of autonomous systems from the user's perspective, and understanding the impact of technology deployment on road traffic safety in a mixed traffic environment. A fleet of 16 Stellantis prototypes was used in various scenarios and driving situations, under variable conditions in several European countries. The aim was to collect data, recognize situations, and evaluate all aspects of the driving tests, a key component in addressing the main questions related to the market introduction of these systems.
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