Nevertheless, there continue to be aspects of road traffic that people simply can contend with better than technology. This is especially true of appraising the situation as a whole. People are still able nowadays to intuitively grasp situations (including road traffic scenarios) holistically, and – subject to individual experience – can do so very rapidly. We are able to tell at a glance whether a paper bag is blowing in front of the car or whether a dog has leapt into its path. Machines still have to learn how to interpret image and sensor data in a reliable manner.
This means that, for the foreseeable future, the task is all about achieving good interaction between humans and machines. ZF demonstrates what form that might take with its Level 2+ system, ZF coPILOT. This intelligent advanced driver assistance system provides driving and safety functions that go well beyond the performance level of a regular Level 2 system for semi-autonomous driving. For example, ZF coPILOT continuously analyzes vehicle surroundings, enabling it to recognize pedestrians or oncoming traffic, and to assist human drivers if they happen to overlook something.