Daimler, the parent company to Mercedes-Benz, has entered into a partnership with automotive supplier Bosch to develop self-driving technology.
The two companies are aiming to have a self-driving taxi on the roads by 2020, capable of Level 4 (requires no human intervention in defined situations) and Level 5 autonomy which needs no human driver at all. To call a cab, users of the service will use their smart phones, much like Uber.
Both Bosch and Daimler have been working separately on self-driving vehicles, with Mercedes agreeing to supply Uber with self-driving vehicles outfit with Daimler’s technology. Bosch has already worked with automakers on self-driving tech, while the company is currently working with chipmaker Nvidia to build a self-driving supercomputer.
“The prime objective of the project is to achieve the production-ready development of a driving system which will allow cars to drive fully autonomously in the city,” said Daimler in a statement.
Bosch and Daimler says that the self-driving taxis will hit the road “as early as possible,” with the beginning of the next decade being the goal.
