Mercedes S500 Intelligent Drive at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. (Photo Credit: Mercedes-Benz)

As the late model cars progress with the independent driving functions like the Audi’s, Fords and Volvo’s that parallel park without help from the driver, the need for a single system is becoming more apparent. 

Remember when California Air Resources Board mandated the OBD-1 system (1990) for all cars but each auto manufacturer had their own idea of what the data protocol, data link connector and connector position/location should be? The individual systems did little to make the maintenance uniform or even to accomplish the main objective of establishing a state-wide emissions testing program. Technicians did not know where to look for the connections and many times did not have the right interface for the systems. It got so bad that these rules could not truly be enforced until the OBDII came out in 1995.  

Having been through this fiasco before, car experts are advocating a single standard for autonomous systems now, rather than later. On September 18th, a panel of automotive experts spoke at the Michigan Automotive Summit in Detroit about the advantages of adopting a single “standard which would make the entire industry rise around it much faster,” said Jeffery Owens, Chief Technology Officer at Delphi Automotive.

Many of the other experts agreed with the panel describing a potential battle over protocols as something akin to the Betamax VS. VHS format in the late 70’s and 80’s. 

“This can’t be like the VHS and Beta,” said John Rakolta Jr., CEO of Walbridge. “Even if it means picking winners, we need to find one idea and gather behind it to move this industry forward.” Rakolta went on to clarify the need for one standard, “There needs to be the technology and standards that will allow Toyotas to talk to Fiats and so on.”

More and more sensors with interface code to make them work together are part of the autonomous car’s self driving capability. Finding a standard interface applicable to the industry is now in the hands of Industry leaders. Photo from www.zcars.com.au

While the experts were not all in agreement on where to start, with Rakolta and other suggesting the software “is where we are slipping.” Others seemed to believe that a uniform communication connectivity is the key to further development. 

“Connectivity is one of the most important areas for the future,” said Osamu Nagata, President of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing. “We need to have more engineers who have experience in connectivity, vehicle to vehicle, vehicle to infrastructure,” he said. “Things will get chaotic if there isn’t a common communication throughout and standards developed.”

 Regardless of where the experts pointed as the logical starting place, all agreed that a single standard needs to happen, and happen soon. Florida, California and Nevada have passed legislation legalizing self-driving cars for testing purposes already. The race for an autonomous car is in full stride and without legislation, companies will produce their own systems and formats which will make the maintenance support much more difficult. 

Michigan’s Senate Bill 169, which passed through the transportation committee in March, makes Michigan the fourth state to allow manufacturers and suppliers to test self-driving vehicles. “We need to step back from specifics and engage the leadership, call the leaders and tell them to move Senate Bill 169 to help create a group to help push this forward as fast as possible,” Rakolta said.

The question now is… will the politicians listen now or wait for the fallout before mandating a standard?