There is a lot of competition among car companies to make self-driving devices easy to use. In the meantime, Jeep is building self-driving technology for off-road driving, which aligns with its values. In Moab, Utah, Jeep has been testing two hybrid Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe cars with the hardware for its advanced driver assistance systems. Neda Cvijetic, Stellantis’ Head of AI & Autonomous Driving, was responsible for the project’s development team. The goal was to make it so Jeeps could drive themselves in challenging off-road situations. It’s important to know that this technology is only being made for Jeeps. “We are facing challenges that are in some ways bigger than what you see with on-road autonomy,” says Cvijetic. “That is what makes any engineer’s heart skip a beat.” Even though there isn’t much knowledge about the technology, Jeep expects to say more about it in the summer. So far, it has only shown a video of two prototypes driving on Moab roads. You can see the two Grand Cherokees moving at times, while at other times, they are fully self-driving and covered in cameras and sensors. Putting self-driving technology on paths that aren’t paved is an exciting idea. Off-road driving is a fun exercise many people like to do. It could be argued whether or not automating driving for fun would work. But it could be helpful as a helper, especially if the system can get drivers out of tricky situations beyond their abilities. Also, people who have to drive off-road for work rather than fun would be happy to have a little help from a robot. Also, a low-mounted lidar sensor or camera could help an automatic system find better lines and more grip than a person in the cabin. Because of this, Jeep CEO Christian Meunier said that the car shows the company has reached a new level of ability. “These cutting-edge off-road driving systems will help more customers in more countries join and enjoy the adventure,” says Meunier. Technology for self-driving cars on the road is getting better quickly, but there are still a lot of big problems to solve. Seeing a car company like Jeep think about ways to help drivers in a very different setting is interesting. As the company moves forward as an off-road brand, this technology could be an excellent way to set it apart.
