Magna International is developing a system automakers can use to enable vehicles to drive autonomously without the need for rooftop sensors or other compromises to vehicle styling.
The company said in a statement that its Max4 system is designed to provide fully autonomous driving combining cameras, LiDAR and ultrasonic sensors and a computing platform that are integrated into the car’s body. Other autonomous vehicle sensor systems rely on LiDAR sensors that spin on top of the vehicle’s roof.
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It added that parts of the system are either production ready or nearly production ready, the company said.
Magna said the Max4 system can be designed so that drivers can turn on the autonomous driving function using a button, and turn it off as they do cruise control by either tapping the brake or hitting a button.
MAX4 combines cameras, RADAR, LiDAR and ultrasonic sensors with a compute platform that are designed for easy integration with any automakers’ existing and future platforms—including hybrid and electric vehicles. Additionally, Magna’s compute platform, scalable for high-volume production, is flexible, upgradeable and fully functional with a fraction of power requirements as compared to alternative solutions.
Magna says it has leveraged its full-vehicle expertise in its design of MAX4 to overcome traditional obstacles in the development and production of an autonomous driving platform.
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By GlobalDataCrucially, integration of MAX4 retains an automaker’s existing design and styling freedom for their vehicle, including not taking up cargo space in the rear of the vehicle and personal space in the main compartment, it says.
“At the heart of this development is a desire to show the market Magna’s breadth of capabilities and an autonomous driving enabling platform with subsystems that do not compromise the interior and exterior of a vehicle,” said Swamy Kotagiri, Magna’s Chief Technology Officer. “Our focus is on developing production-ready solutions that offer flexibility to integrate and the framework to enable Level 4 technology for when the market is ready.”
One of the targets for Magna was to simplify the way drivers engage with autonomous driving systems including the option of an intuitive and familiar cruise-control-like user interface that is controlled through the press of a button. A lighted display indicates the vehicle is in autonomous mode, and drivers can disengage that mode via brake pedal or an emergency button.
Level 4 automation according to SAE International includes vehicles that can perform all safety-critical functions for the duration of a trip in a specified operational design domain with no input from a driver, save for destination or navigation input. To compare, most of the vehicles on the road today equipped with some automation features are classified by SAE as Level 1 or Level 2, requiring active monitoring by the driver.
Magna has been developing and manufacturing autonomous technology features for automakers since the 2000s. Most recently it showcased its Level 3 autonomous capability with a 300-mile test drive which crossed an international border, in which the vehicle drove autonomously for 92 percent of the trip.
Magna will demonstrate its autonomous enabling technologies at the upcoming 2017 International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany, Hall 8 booth D34.
