As Technology Advances, Experts See Fully Autonomous Vehicles In Near Future

Washington Post (Fleming, New Scientist) reports on the increasing use of technology in automobiles, such as a system from Volvo "that can sense an imminent collision with pedestrians and brake automatically." Eventually, the creation of a "collision-free traffic system" will require "bypassing the fallible humans behind the wheel," and some experts say this development is not far off. "Alan Taub, vice president for research and development at General Motors, expects to see semi-autonomous vehicles on the road by 2015." Although he admits they will initially have some limitations, Taub adds, "I see the potential for launching fully autonomous vehicles by 2020." The article discusses several possibilities researchers are pursuing to reach this goal, including information systems located both in vehicles and on the road. The article notes an autonomous vehicle system created by Carnegie Mellon researchers in 2007 as an example of technology's potential and current limitations. Hat Tip: NAM