Gasgoo (Shanghai, August 15)—A Tesla Model S, which was under the automatically-driving mode, rubbed a car in Beijing, fortunately leading to no casualty, on August 2. This, actually, was the second traffic accident caused by automatically-driving Tesla, after a collision with a tractor on May 7 this year.
Traffic accidents has given rise to doubt on safety and feasibility of the automatically-driving technology. Moreover, there has been arguments about the development mode of this new technology.
There are four stages to complete development of the automatically-driving technology, including the stage of auxiliary driving, the stage of half-automatically driving, the stage of highly automatically driving, and automatically driving. Google, along with other IT giants, has worked hard to arrive at the final stage without going through any intermediate stage, while, on the contrary, Tesla, like the other automakers, has preferred developed the new technology stage by stage.
Guided by the one-step-to-the-position development mode, IT giants still need some time to complete all those tests before launching vehicles. Vehicles with half –automatically driving technology, have been brought to the market. Cost reduction has led to that vehicles developed by Tesla haven’t been equipped with expensive sensing systems. These traffic accidents, however, may serve to remind automakers to improve the new technology.
Integration and cooperation among different industries may also drive development of the new technology. There was joint announcement by companies, which included BMW, Intel, and Mobileye, that they will cooperate to develop vehicles allowing the automatically-driving technology.
Cooperation among automakers, IT giants, and parts makers may accelerate the development of the new technology according to analyst in the industry.
