Driverless cars spark fuel economy headache

Judging from General Motors’ test cars and Elon Musk’s predictions, the world is headed toward a future that’s both driverless and all-electric. In reality, autonomy and battery power could end up being at odds.

That’s because self-driving technology is a huge power drain. Some of today’s prototypes for fully autonomous systems consume 2kW to 4kW of electricity — the equivalent of having 50 to 100 laptops continuously running in the boot, according to BorgWarner. The supplier of vehicle propulsion systems expects the first autonomous cars — likely robo taxis that are constantly on the road — will be too energy-hungry to run on battery power alone.

In an industry where the number of LEDs in a brake light are scrutinised for their impact on fuel efficiency, processing data from laser, radar and camera sensors will be an enormous challenge for engineers trying to power vehicles efficiently. Car makers and their suppliers will also have to find ways to offset emissions produced by feeding the car’s increasingly intelligent brain.