Self-driving cars are slowly moving forward

自动驾驶汽车正缓慢前进

Having kept riders waiting for years, they are finally arriving

让乘客等待多年后，它们终于来了

Ahigh-performance sensor is not needed to detect the list of missed targets for the widespread adoption of self-driving cars. General Motors once promised autonomous vehicles (AVS) in abundance by 2019. Ford and Lyft, a ride-hailing firm, had reckoned 2021 was more plausible. For a decade, Elon Musk has loudly proclaimed that fully autonomous Teslas were a year away at most. Taking a nap behind the wheel on a tediously long drive remains a distant dream. But broad adoption of avs will inch closer in 2024.

 不需要高性能传感器来检测自动驾驶汽车普及的错过目标清单。通用汽车曾承诺到2019年会大量推出自动驾驶汽车（AVs）。福特和叫车公司Lyft认为2021年更为可行。长达十年，埃隆·马斯克一直高声宣称特斯拉的全自动驾驶汽车最多只需要一年时间就能实现。在乏味的长途驾驶中睡个觉仍然是一个遥远的梦想。但是自动驾驶汽车的广泛应用将在2024年逐渐接近。

In the coming year robotaxis will spread beyond test zones and powerful self-driving features will become available to more motorists. The pursuit of autonomy has split into three camps: firms working on fully autonomous robotaxis; carmakers focused on various forms of driver assistance; and Tesla, which does its own thing.

 未来一年里，Robotaxi将会在测试区之外扩展，并且强大的自动驾驶功能将会提供给更多的汽车驾驶者。对自动驾驶的追求已经分为三个阵营：致力于全自动Robotaxi的公司；专注于各种形式驾驶辅助的汽车制造商；以及特斯拉，他们独立开展自己的工作。

Hailing robotaxis will become more commonplace. Waymo (owned by Alphabet) and Cruise (GM’s AV arm), have long been testing vehicles. They have been charging for rides in San Francisco around the clock, with no need for safety drivers (though Cruise’s licence was suspended in October after an accident involving a pedestrian).

 叫车机器人出租车将变得更加普遍。Waymo（由Alphabet所有）和Cruise（通用汽车的自动驾驶部门）长期以来一直在测试车辆。它们已经全天候在旧金山收费接送，无需安全驾驶员（尽管Cruise的许可证在十月份因涉及行人事故而被暂停）。

In 2024 such vehicles, already operating in Austin, Los Angeles and Phoenix, as well as avs from Amazon’s Zoox, may pop up in other American cities including Atlanta, Miami and Seattle. In China, Baidu, a tech giant, and Pony.ai, also both with small operations in Beijing and other cities, have similar expansion plans—in Baidu’s case to 65 cities by 2025.

到2024年，在奥斯汀、洛杉矶和菲尼克斯等地已经运营的这类车辆，以及来自亚马逊旗下Zoox的自动驾驶汽车，可能会出现在其他美国城市，包括亚特兰大、迈阿密和西雅图。在中国，科技巨头百度和Pony.ai，也都在北京和其他城市有少量运营，他们有类似的扩张计划——百度计划到2025年在65个城市开展业务。

Establishing a robotaxi business requires years of investment, and the prospects remain uncertain. Many carmakers think a faster route to profit is to add self-driving tech to ordinary cars. Some already have “level 2” systems that can steer, brake and change lanes. But Mercedes-Benz is leading the way with Drive Pilot, a “level 3” system that does not require constant supervision. Already available in Germany, it will become available in several American states in 2024, as a $2,500-a-year subscription option in some of the firm’s fanciest models. Crucially, Mercedes assumes full legal liability when Drive Pilot is on. Other carmakers are not far behind: Ford, Stellantis and others are likely to launch similar “level 3” systems in 2024.

建立一个机器人出租车业务需要数年的投资，前景仍然不确定。许多汽车制造商认为更快的盈利途径是将自动驾驶技术添加到普通汽车中。一些汽车已经配备了“二级”系统，可以转向、刹车和变道。但梅赛德斯-奔驰正在引领一条新路，推出了“三级”系统Drive Pilot，不需要持续监督。这个系统已经在德国上市，将在2024年在美国的几个州上市，作为该公司一些最豪华车型的每年2500美元的订阅选项。关键是，当Drive Pilot开启时，梅赛德斯承担全部法律责任。其他汽车制造商也紧随其后：福特、斯泰莱恩特斯和其他一些公司可能会在2024年推出类似的“三级”系统。

And that leaves Tesla. Despite much hype, its self-driving system is “level 2”, requiring constant supervision and hands on the steering wheel. Mr Musk claims the next version, likely to be made available in 2024, provides a far higher level of autonomy. Perhaps it will. One way or another, the driverless journey is creeping ever closer.

这就留下了特斯拉。尽管吹捧不断，其自动驾驶系统是“二级”的，需要持续监督和双手握住方向盘。马斯克先生声称下一个版本，可能在2024年推出，提供了更高水平的自主性。也许是这样。无论如何，无人驾驶的时代正悄然而至。