Daimler, Bosch Partner on Autonomous Vehicle Systems

Daimler AG and Bosch GmbH have formed a development alliance that aims to create a production-ready system for driverless, fully autonomous vehicles by early next decade.

The program will focus on self-driving vehicles for urban ride-hailing applications. The partners envision users reserving and summoning automated taxis from their smartphones, with the vehicles driving autonomously to pick them up within a geo-fenced area.

The partners plan to jointly develop the necessary software and algorithms, combining Daimler’s vehicle know-how with Bosch’s systems and hardware expertise. By working together, they expect to realize unspecified synergies to improve performance and speed the commercialization process.

The development teams will be based in California's Silicon Valley and Stuttgart, Germany, and include several hundred engineers from both partners. The companies plan to invest equally in the project but didn't provide a budget. 

Bosch says technologies developed under the partnership can be marketed to third-party companies after a two-year lead time for Daimler. Driver assistance products and other technologies developed independently won't be included in the partnership, the supplier notes. 

Operating fully autonomous vehicles in cities could improve safety and reduce traffic congestion. The partners say the technology also should increase the attractiveness of car sharing, give commuters more flexibility in how to use their time and provide greater mobility for people who don’t otherwise have access to a vehicle.