Volkswagen Debuts Self-Driving 'Temporary Autopilot' For New Cars

Surely many many man-hours went into planning, development, and integration, but I think cars should either require the drivers attention 100% of the time (hands on the wheel) or none at all as in completely autonomous self driving cars.

What keeps me awake on long trips is the constant interaction with the road that I have. What keeps the driver's mind occupied in TAP mode? Not all but most people need a stimulus mentally, day dreaming, reading, etc. I worry that the driver monitoring the TAP system on the car would shift focus away from the road and in a critical moment would not be able to apply the brakes or swerve the car to avoid an accident.

No doubt VW thought of this but how can the car monitor you to make sure you are paying attention? Have a camera in the cab insuring your eyes are on the road or requiring you to at least have one hand on the wheel at one time could work but doesnt that defeat the purpose of the TAP system? Also, it would seem insanely boring to watch the car drive you after you become accustomed to the novelty of it.

Interesting. But it seems like this is more of an advanced cruise control than autopilot. It's not like it'll make any turns for you, right? Or what about stopping for red lights if there's no car in front of you? Would it do that?

Until the day I can program my GPS and have the car just bring me there, safely and automatically, I won't call it "autopilot".

-IMP ;) :)

@icemetalpunk - I know what you mean. For me it's any time I want to pull the seat back and stretch or maybe eat a burger, maybe look at my gps and see where I'm at. So a co-pilot perhaps. Kind of like when I was a little kid and I sat on my dad's knee and steered...down the garden state parkway on the way to the beach.

@convictus - you know that this thing would be more attentive than virtually every other driver on the highway right? Few of us pay close attention all the time. Truck drivers might actually like passenger cars that have this system. It would lessen tailgating and cut-offs by tiny cars.

I look forward to the day my car can come fetch me from the bar.

It's encouraging to see vehicles become more and more autonomous. We're just one or two steps away from calling them autovehicles instead of automobiles!

For those who are sleepy, drunk, drugged, or distracted, this will be great in preventing accidents which often cause death and damage to other people on the road. Perhaps even if someone is doing everything right, but has this on, it could brake and swerve to avoid a car that's cutting over into its lane and about to hit them.

@IMP: It is an autopilot, just "temporary" in the sense that it will maintain speed and heading, and avoid dangers (quick-braking folks ahead), for as long as the road stays straight.

Lol this is a double edge sword... ;-) I love the idea of auto pilot, but can you imagine how many truck drivers and such could be put out of work because of this... course its bound to happen ;-)

I like the idea of it being more of a Co-Pilot. It would be great if it would sense your phone connected to your car via Bluetooth, and the car would quickly alert you of your incoming call or message and take over for you to answer. Also I think its more of an aide to make your driving more efficient not to take you completely out the picture. I am very torn between fully automated cars and my love for driving. The technology just amazes me and excites every bit of nerd in me. Then there is the love of driving, and the main reason I only own manual transmission vehicle.

Google has a much better system that uses Google maps and an advanced GPS system; the car actually turns curves and stops at red lights and shows on your home computer or iPhone exactly where you are at all times. Google has several thousand test miles on the car and with zero accidents/with no traffic violations. You are going to like this; you can call your car on your cell phone and watch it as it comes and pick you up or take the kids to school for you and pick them up after school. With Google's system, the little two wheel electric cars make a perfect taxis.

It's just a matter of time until there are driver-less cars. It's going to be a huge change for a lot of people.

Accident rates will plummet because most accidents are caused by the "nut behind the wheel". While this is great news, it will cause insurance rates to plummet and result in massive de- employment in the insurance industry. Someone has already mentioned that truck drivers could become a job of the past as would taxi drivers and other types of driving jobs.

Cool Tap feature for Volkswagen. Now there are additional car parts and accessories for Volkswagen. It is much better if it still have the GPS System. :)

Can any of you guys read the article before commenting?

What's up with all this "it can't turn" nonsense?

"When in TAP mode, the car maintains a safe distance from the vehicle ahead, checks the lane markers to keep the car in the center, and automatically slows down when approaching a bend in the road. "

It's perfect "auto-pilot" for highway driving. You get in the car, drive it manually to the highway, then turn on TAP mode and sit back and eat your cheeseburger while it drives down the road, maintaining distance w/the car in front of you, slowing down/speeding up as necessary, keeping you in the lane, and even slowing down when it's time to turn.

You can be entertained by listening to music, or reading a book, or talking with your passenger... and the car will monitor the situation around you and keep you from running off the road.