Bosch Develops Autonomous Drive Tech For The Tesla Model S

Tesla Model S (Credit: Tesla Motors )

Bosch, a humongous automotive parts company, has just given everyone a glimpse of the near future by demonstrating how it could deploy more advanced autonomous drive tech for the Tesla Model S, or pretty much any other modern vehicle.

One of the hot development areas in the automotive industry is automation. Already, examples of this technology is creeping into everyday driving is present as vehicle systems monitor blindspots, warn drivers about rear cross traffic, manage the car’s speed when cruise control is set and even apply the brakes when the possibility of an impending crash has been detected.

What’s surprising about Bosch’s solution, which you can see in the video below, is that it involves a mixture of manual and automated driving. The human driver actually takes the wheel at certain points, while during other times he’s free to check email or do whatever else he needs. The system also allows owners to rate how well the computer did at certain on-road maneuvers, so if you don’t like cutting it close when passing another vehicle or you think the car’s not driving aggressive enough, you can teach the autonomous how to make you happy.

One big objection that people have when it comes to autonomous driving is that they don’t want to give up their freedom to manually control a car. While some have made wild assertions that humans are “the problem” with driving or that they “can’t be trusted” at all, Bosch seems to be striking a nice balance. Instead of Google’s solution of a car that’s like an amusement park ride where no controls are available, the Model S still has a steering wheel and pedals that the driver uses.

For right now, Bosch isn’t saying just how close it is to bringing an autonomous drive system like the one in the video to market. Considering how simplistic the technology seems, it’s likely that the company isn’t too far off from making it available to the public.