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Driverless Cars

By Alan D. Kaplan and Robert Sanzillo

The next big advancement in automotive technology ' previously the stuff of futuristic movies ' might not be as far off as you think. Autonomous vehicles, or self-driving cars, are close to becoming an everyday reality, whether you like it or not. The shift toward automation in vehicles is nothing new; Chrysler has been touting “auto-pilot” since 1958, antilock brakes and cruise control were introduced in the 1970s, and electronic stability control became mandatory in the 1990s.

But in recent years, the idea of having the vehicle function more fully for the driver has become increasingly prevalent. More advanced technologies (sometimes called “driver assists”) have become commonplace. Many cars come with automated braking systems that use sensors to measure the distance between the vehicle and surrounding objects. If a collision risk appears to be imminent and the driver fails to press the brake, the driver assist can automatically apply the brake to avoid the collision. Rear-view cameras and collision warnings have also become ubiquitous. And automobile manufacturers took the technology one step closer to complete automation when automated parallel parking was made available to consumers. While not completely automatic (the driver maintains control of the accelerator and brakes), the parking system controls the steering mechanism of the vehicle to safely maneuver into a parking space.

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