Stanford University has teamed up with Volkswagen to build two driverless cars--an Audi TTS and a VW Passat Wagon--and hopes to break a few records along the way.
So far the Audi TTS has already achieved an unofficial speed record for an autonomous car at 130 miles per hour, as Engadget reports. Stanford is hoping that the car will soon complete the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, a nine mile race with 156 turns--all by itself.
Meanwhile, Stanford's Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory has developed a Volkswagen Passat "valet system" that handles tough parallel parking, as the report said. Videos of each after the break.
Wow, truly exciting technology here! It begs the question however, are we really ready for driverless cars? Driving has become such a personal experience (even for those that don't do it well). Will we actually be able to sit and be shuttled without pouncing on the "manual overdrive" button? Guess time will tell.
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October 28, 2009 12:36 PM
Wow, truly exciting technology here! It begs the question however, are we really ready for driverless cars? Driving has become such a personal experience (even for those that don't do it well). Will we actually be able to sit and be shuttled without pouncing on the "manual overdrive" button? Guess time will tell.