First for the Automotive Industry in France, Peugeot PSA Prototype Car Travels 580km, Paris to Bordeaux, in Autonomous Mode, writes MATILDA FRANCES
[dropcap]F[/dropcap]riday, 2 October 2015, a new chapter of history was scribbled on the road marble of Europe. First French indigenous company tested a French-made prototype car, which rode without anyone driving it.
The cars were made by PSA Peugeot Citroen, four of them. They traveled the motorway from Paris to Bordeaux to take part in the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress, holding from 5th to 9th October.
The 580km trip was completed entirely in autonomous mode, without driver involvement. The car autonomously adjusted its speed and changed lanes to overtake, taking into account other vehicles, speed limits and infrastructure.
In July 2015, the Group became the first carmaker to obtain the relevant authorizations to carry out open road tests using four autonomous prototypes, and some fifteen such models in 2016.
PSA Peugeot Citroen works to develop solutions and technologies to make the car of tomorrow smarter, in order to enhance driver comfort and adapt to changing customer behaviour and expectations.
Why is Peugeot joining the bandwagon to fabricate driverless cars?
“Autonomous driving features will help cut the number of accidents linked to human error and reduce driver fatigue in monotonous driving situations,” answered Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën. “These projects will soon be applied to production models, with the gradual deployment of driverless features.”
Also commenting on the achievement in France, Mr. Tavares said: “The journey made by our prototype today proves that autonomous vehicles are no longer of matter of science fiction. This ushers in a new era for mobility, which I find truly exciting.”
At the ITS World Congress, which kicked off on today (Monday, 5th October 2015), PSA Peugeot Citroen presented its autonomous vehicles and its car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication systems
These systems, which offer a new source of information, use data transmitted by other vehicles and infrastructure to enhance awareness of the vehicle’s surrounding environment. The idea, according to the company’s board Chairman, is to improve road user safety by anticipating certain critical situations to reduce the number of accidents.
