While there are many different warning signs on the market to let us know autonomous driving technology hasn’t been developed enough to be ready for the roads we travel on at the moment, many car manufacturers are looking ahead to the benefits that can come out of creating autonomous driving. This isn’t something that it seems one company can do on their own, even though some technology giants are trying to do just that. What we’re learning is the fact it will take several companies that are leaders in their respective industries to work out all the details when it comes to autonomous driving.

So far the industry has taken some baby steps in the world of automation. Because of the steps taken we have new technologies available on our vehicles such as lane departure warnings, automatic emergency braking, collision avoidance systems and even driver alert systems. This advanced technology has led to fewer accidents on the roadways, which is significantly important considering there are now more cars on the roads than ever before, making it safer for us to drive on a daily basis and enjoy the fact our vehicles can help keep us from harm.

The challenge for moving to the fully autonomous technology of any vehicle involves the development of driving from start to finish. This has led BMW to partner with Intel and Mobileye to develop the solutions needed to create the driving experience without a driver. These three companies are considered leaders in the automotive, technology and computer-vision and machine-learning industries; which show us just how much will have to go into creating a fully autonomous driving experience. With these three companies working together we should have some unique solutions that may even give us more innovations along the way to the fully autonomous driving we’re looking forward to.

The platform that will be used for the testing and development of the autonomous driving will be the BMW iNEXT model. The goal is to create complete end to end solutions for the industry and enhance the car to the point of being able to drive on its own even when there’s no one inside the car. This would be similar to the function offered in the Tesla Model S which currently allows a car to remotely leave the garage and move into the driveway. BMW is hoping to be first to the market with a car that can actually drive to any location you desire, even if you aren’t present in the vehicle.

The solution to the problem of creating autonomous driving vehicles is an extremely complex one. The challenge is creating cars that can handle the drive not only on highways, which we already see with some models, but the driving in neighborhoods and urban areas of cities can present significant challenges. The computerization will need to make it so these cars are able to react and respond to an environment that changes rapidly to be able to become a self-driving solution we can trust and desire.

Imagine an urban area where the car has to react to other vehicles pulling out in front of it, kids playing in the street, pedestrian crossing the road or even pets that flee out into traffic. Keeping in mind that not everyone follows the signs and traffic laws will present a set of calculations the team of experts will need to prepare these cars to respond to. In suburban neighborhoods similar challenges may be present to make it difficult for the automation to work properly.

The first goal for the three is to create an “eyes off” environment and eventually advance to a “mind off” situation. The overall deadline BMW has given itself to have a self-driving car on the road is 2021, which does give these three companies a full four years to work together in collaboration and development of the technology that may be ready to change the world with an autonomous driving platform of iNEXT cars we can fully admire.