Two Citroën C4 Picasso cars drive 300 kilometres in "Eyes Off" mode. Yes, with their eyes off.

Autonomous tasks are trendy in every sector and, of course, in cars too. Car manufacturers are determined to find ways for riding in a vehicle to no longer be tied to someone driving it.

Some of these manufacturers gathered, together with several European Union transport ministers, just a few days ago in Amsterdam, at the “The Experience” event. One of the manufacturers that attended that event was the PSA Group.

The French multinational went to “The Experience” with two Citroën C4 Picasso units modified for automated driving. Both covered a route of more than 300 kilometres in “eyes off” mode to take part in the event. The autonomous-mode route covered part of the distance between Paris and Amsterdam.

According to the driving-automation level classification for autonomous vehicles, “eyes off” mode is the third level. The first is “hands on”, the second “hands off”, the third “eyes off”, the next “mind off”, and the last “driverless”.

In this autonomous driving mode, the driver should not intervene, but must stay alert to the driving in case the system fails at some point or conditions become excessively complicated, at which point it is the driver who takes control.

The PSA Group has been working on autonomous driving for several months. What is more, in the summer of 2015 it became the first manufacturer to obtain authorisation to test its autonomous vehicles on French public open roads, covering more than 20,000 kilometres, especially on routes from Paris to Bordeaux and from Paris to Vigo.

In its press release, the manufacturer states that from 2018 it will offer several automated driving functions in its models, although under the driver’s control. It also adds that two years later, in 2020, it will have autonomous driving functions that will indeed allow the driver to relax.

For many people, this will be a significant step forward, and the task of driving will be more comfortable and probably safer. We do not deny they are right; but for those of us who enjoy driving and take pleasure at the wheel, we simply want traditional driving to continue to exist for many years to come.

Source | PSA Group