- Called STLA AutoDrive, this system is designed to be implemented across the Stellantis range.
- The Level 3 eyes-off, hands-off system is designed to work up to 37 mph (60 km/h).
- At speeds above 37 mph, the system reverts to its original hands-off Level 2 system.
You can’t be a modern automaker without some sort of self-driving, autonomous component, right? While Ford and General Motors have thrown down against Tesla with their respective BlueCruise and Super Cruise systems, Stellantis’s efforts have been pretty tepid.
The European-American conglomerate that owns Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Fiat and other brands may have been quietly lacking in the smart driving aspect but its latest foray shows the brand might just be taking things seriously. It just announced STLA AutoDrive 1.0, a Level 3 eyes-off, hands-off system.
When it comes to production, it will sit alongside Mercedes-Benz as one of the few Level 3 systems on the market.
Technically, this system is a mixture of both Level 2 and Level 3. At speeds below 37 mph (60 km/h), the system will free up a driver’s time to do other things during stop-and-go traffic.
“Helping drivers make the best use of their time is a priority,” said Stellantis’ Chief Engineering and Technology Officer Ned Curic, in a statement. So, when the system is engaged, a driver can do anything from watching a movie to answering e-mails or even just looking out the window. All of that meant to reclaim the driver’s time stuck in traffic.
When the driver wants to exceed the 37 mph limit, the car reverts to its regular Level 2 hands-off system. Keep in mind that both Level 2 and Level 3 autonomous driving still means that the driver must be ready to assume control of the vehicle at any time, though.
Although the three-minute video shows the tech off on the new Jeep Wagoneer S, Stellantis says this is a scalable system that is ready to be implemented through the range of many brands that Stellantis controls. Like most other autonomous driving systems, all that on-road data is sent back to Stellantis itself to improve optimization and upgrade the functionality via over-the-air updates. For example, the Level 3 self-driving is limited to 37 mph (60 km/h), but there’s a possibility that it soon could work at speeds of 59 mph (95 km/h). Impressive, but also this is all pretty standard stuff for a modern autonomous driving system.
With that said, some of the details are a bit vague. It’s not clear what kind of hardware each vehicle would need to support the semi-autonomous driving software. The forthcoming Volvo ES90 hasn’t made claims of level 3 self-driving, but even with its (presumably) level 2 assistance features it’s using two Nvidia Orin chips and a suite of sensors, including a LiDAR unit. Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot is the only commercially available Level 3 system in the U.S., and it too uses a LiDAR unit. Stellantis says there will be some “off-road automation for select models,” but hasn’t explained what that is yet.
We don’t quite know when the first commercially available iterations will reach the market, either. Stellantis says the system is “ready for deployment and can be adapted for global markets as commercial strategies align with market demand,” which is promising but isn’t exactly a tangible date.
Still, this is a positive step forward for the global conglomerate. In the video, the Wagoneer S seems to use AutoDrive mode looks easy. The car moves through traffic on its own, all while the driver reads a magazine.
Hey, it beats just sitting there and being bored.
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