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Autonomous Driving

September 27, 2016

Autonomous or self-driving cars are touted as the future of road transportation. What is the current state of the technology? What problems do developers still have to solve? And are they truly safe?

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Almost all the major car makers are currently at work on autonomous or self-driving cars - vehicles controlled largely by computer and allowing the driver to kick back and enjoy the ride. The Google Cars testing fleet has been on the road in the western United States since 2012. The first self-driving taxis hit the streets of Singapore over the summer. But last July, news of the first accident fatality involving an autonomous car sent waves of apprehension through the media. A man had been killed in a Tesla Model S driving in autopilot mode, when a tractor-trailer truck made a left turn in front of the car. Both the Tesla's sensors and the driver failed to see the truck against the bright sky. Even so, experts continue to promote autonomous cars as a safer alternative to conventional vehicles.