Open software promises speedy self-driving car development - Roadshow

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Elektrobit, a division of automotive supplier Continental, announced the release of Robinos, an open software architecture that could become the standard for self-driving cars. Along with the open architecture, dubbed Open Robinos, Elektrobit will also offer EB Robinos, its own branded version of the architecture with prewritten software modules to process sensor input and make vehicle control decisions.

Automakers and other companies are developing cars capable of driving themselves, and some have projected 2020 as the first year for production self-driving vehicles. Self-driving development cars typically employ an array of sensors, including laser and radar, to "see" the world around them, and a computer to process the input and send signals to control steering, throttle and braking.

The Robinos architecture specifies a sensor layer, with modules to process GPS, radar and laser inputs, a decision-making layer, and the final vehicle control layer. An error-checking block underlies these layers.

Elektrobit notes that the architecture is designed to handle SAE Level 5 autonomy, which means a fully self-driving car.

Bjo Geisler, Elektrobit's head of driver assistance, said that automakers were "reinventing the wheel" with their self-driving car projects, each building their own software architecture and keeping it secret. He said that "Open Robinos will speed development of self-driving cars."