Porsche Has A Cruise Control System For Cornering

A new innovation from Porsche will allow consumers the ability to corner without hands. The typical cruise control killer is coming upon a corner, however InnoDrive from German automaker Porsche will reportedly allow drivers to take their feet off the pedals for turns in the road. Pedals, not the steering wheel. Consumers still steer, but the vehicle handles the speed itself. This innovation is just another incremental step automakers are taking in the move to fully autonomous cars.

Under development in an area near Wassach, German is the InnoDrive system. It will reportedly allow cornering at up to 0.70g. That’s obviously much harder cornering that many are either used to, or have, or will ever experience. The past aside, the future appears to involve consumers not having to shut off cruise control when they come upon a corner. Those days could be numbered. The question is how is this all possible?

It all works when vital info such as pavement grade and turn radius are stored in the vehicle navigation system. According to Car and Driver this, “helps the car paint a three-dimensional picture of  the road, allowing the onboard computers to set the speed for ultra efficient cruising and perfect 0.50-g turns.” This innovation takes the speed guesswork not the steering out of turning. Porsche claims InnoDrive will cut commuting times by 2 percent and fuel consumption by 10 percent.

As is usually the case when automakers talk about either self-driving vehicles or self-driving vehicle components, everyone wants to know about road conditions. How would this InnoDrive control speed when it’s snowing? How would it handle wet and slick roads? The answer might be as simple as the question. Would you use cruise control in the snow? It’s not recommended for hazardous road conditions, thus why would you employ InnoDrive during potentially dangerous road conditions? You likely would not and perhaps the answer to every comment about how self-driving cars can’t handle snow and rain is that you wouldn’t have your vehicle in autonomous mode during that time.

However, whether they be self-driving cars or self-driving vehicle components, trust will need to be in place to allow them to become a marketable feature or mode. Also awaiting answer are the liability questions surrounding self-driving vehicle accidents as well as consumer risks associated with a vehicle computer malfunction.

What do you think of the no-feet on the pedals approach by Porsche? Is this a smart move for efficient cornering or a potentially dangerous one for those who don’t worry about weather conditions? Finally, how long will it be before automakers put it all together and get a self-driving car on the road?