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Driverless cars will need almost 1,000 times more complex computer code than it took to land Apollo 11 on the MOON

According to Jaguar Land Rover, it'll take nearly one billion lines of computer code to get an autonomous vehicle driving on its own

Dan Elsom

Published: 15:49, 17 Apr 2019
Updated: 16:06, 17 Apr 2019

FOR MANY, the idea that completely driverless cars will hit public roads in the next few years is hard to believe.

But if manufacturers' claims are correct, we could see self-sufficient vehicles as soon as next year.

Driverless cars could be a reality sooner than you might thinkCredit: Alamy

However, plenty will need to be done before a driverless network can operate on our roads.

According to Jaguar Land Rover, getting a fully autonomous car on the road could actually be more complicated than landing on the moon.

In order for the vehicles to operate without human intervention, the computers inside self-driving cars will require an estimated one billion lines of complex code.

That's almost 1,000 times the amount needed to land Apollo 11 on the moon back in 1969.

What is a driverless car? Levels of autonomy revealed

Car-tech firm SAE explains the different levels of self-driving car tech...

Level 0 (No Automation) – The full-time performance by the human driver of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, even when enhanced by warning or intervention systems
Level 1 (Driver Assistance) – The driving mode-specific execution by a driver assistance system of either steering or acceleration/deceleration using the information about the driving environment, and with the expectation that the human driver perform all remaining aspects of the dynamic driving task
Level 2 (Partial Automation) – The driving mode-specific execution by one or more driver assistance systems of both steering and acceleration/deceleration using information about the driving environment, and with the expectation that the human driver perform all remaining aspects of the dynamic driving task
Level 3 (Conditional Automation) – The driving mode-specific performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task with the expectation that the human driver will respond appropriately to a request to intervene
Level 4 (High Automation) – The driving mode-specific performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, even if a human driver does not respond appropriately to a request to intervene
Level 5 (Full Automation) – The full-time performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, under all roadway and environmental conditions that can be managed by a human driver

It's estimated the industry will need an additional five million people worldwide trained with specialist digital skills by 2023 to meet the demand brought on by driverless cars.

To help meet this need, the British manufacturer has launched a new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme to attract the brightest computer engineers to help code its next-generation electric, connected and autonomous vehicles and support the factories of the future.

Nick Rogers, Executive Director of Product Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Computer engineering and software skills are more important than ever in the rapidly changing automotive industry, and that will only increase as we see more autonomous, connected and electric vehicles on the roads.

"The UK will need 1.2 million more people with specialist digital skills by 2022, and as a technology company, it’s our job to help inspire and develop the next generation of technically curious and pioneering digital engineers.

"The Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge is just one of the ways we are doing this, as well as our new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme we are launching this year.”