A robotic driver can think faster and smarter than a human driver -- and look in all directions at once. That’s the idea behind autonomous driving, where you take your hands off the wheel and let the car do the driving for you. Ford has already announced a project called Traffic Jam Assist and Cadillac is working on something called Super Cruise that lets the car take over.
Still, Google is leading the charge. It now uses a fleet of about 24 Lexus RX450h vehicles that have logged a total of about 500,000 miles on California roads. The cars can look for exit ramps, detect buildings, stop suddenly for other cars and change speeds as needed.
Enderle says there are many prototypes already on the road, especially those being tested by Google in San Francisco. Nevada has already created laws that make them legal to use in cities, including Las Vegas. In fact, Enderle says autonomous driving could appear within two years if it weren’t for some nagging legal issues (such as how to insure them) and public safety concerns.