An autonomous car (also known as a driverless car, auto, self-driving car, robotic car) is a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input. Many such vehicles are being developed, but as of February 2017 automated cars permitted on public roads are not yet fully autonomous. Below are the current big players already testing for commercial rollout.
The internet giant announced that it was developing driverless cars in 2009 and began testing them on California’s roads in 2012. In February 2016, Google said it bore “some responsibility” after one of its self-driving cars struck a bus in a minor crash. Before that, its vehicles had driven more than one million miles without an incident that was the car’s fault, according to the company.
Google has said it plans to make its cars available to the public in 2020
Daimler
Believed by many industry experts to be the closest to bringing a fully autonomous car to market. The manufacturer, which owns Mercedes, has spent years developing self-driving features for its high-end models.
“Time and space will become the luxury goods of the future ,” lead engineer Ralf Herrtwich told Robotics & Automation News in April 2016
Ford
The American motor giant is keen to show it is at the forefront of developing new car technology and says its cars have equalled Google in reaching “level 4” autonomy. Ford has been rumoured to be in discussions with Google about a tie-up on driverless tech
Tesla
An icon of the electric car movement, Tesla has also been rapidly adding semi-autonomous technology to its high-end vehicles. This includes autopilot, which allows cars to navigate by themselves in many scenarios, as well as Summon, which allows Tesla owners to order cars to their door via a smartphone. In October 2016, Tesla said self-driving technology would be in all cars
Uber
The future of Uber’s ride-hailing app could be cars that get you between points without needing a driver, a scenario that could dramatically bring down prices. The company has hired driverless car experts from Carnegie Mellon University for a special unit, and is now testing cars in Pittsburgh
Volvo
Volvo is trialling self-driving technology in Sweden and plans to do so in London in 2018, before the technology becomes mainstream in the next decade. It has committed to nobody being killed or seriously injured in any Volvo sold from 2020
Apple
Apple is believed to have been secretly developing electric car technology for some time, and to have considered investments in several car companies. Recently, however, its plans appeared to have stalled and it is now working on developing software for other manufacturers.......read more
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