Oh no Toonces the driving cat!

I just want to say that until the robotic car does become available, I would love to be Vanessa's chauffeur.

that is so cool but they should have put the tech in a ford cause chevy's break down a lot.

Besides the ad stickers all over the car, those sensors on top are a bit unsightly and would be prone to get knocked out of alignment, or vandalism. Besides that prototype being co costly that Arnold S. could not afford it, even if it went into production that car would still be extremely expensive. Do we really need a more expensive car. A friend asked why we do not have flying cars by now, and I told him we have had flying cars for well over half a century. They are called airplanes, and the common man is not qualified to pilot one.

Im a pilot, and what has that to do with this article? Selvdriven cars rules... if u can afford one, and want one, then buy it...

"Check and mate, pig." Seriously? Nice bit of reporting where you still refer to law enforcement officers as pigs.

"Check and mate, pig." Next time a bunch of gang-bangers corner you on a deserted parking lot, dial 911 and tell them you don't want a pig... send Jesse Jackson. I was a "pig" for a few years, until I figured my family deserved more than I could give them defending the lives and rights of thoughtless bints who call policemen "pigs." I'd bet you'd have gotten more and worse mail about this if the author had chosen to abuse a whinier socio-economic group.

But you guys missed the story on self-driving cars - two VW Touaregs won the DARPA Challenge in 2005, driving a mixed road/cross country course of just over a hundred miles, and the hardware wasn't all that complex. The software WAS, but when all's said and done it'll eventually be boiled down to a single computer board that fits in the dashboard and some sensors that are faired securely into the vehicle roof and windshield to avoid vandal damage (besides, these days laser emitters and digital cameras are cheap - all the expensive parts of the guidance system can be placed deep inside the car).

Quicker than you can say "Where's my buggy whip," we'll see self-piloted vehicles that can intervene to prevent a wreck when the human part of the driving team messes up. Then we'll see them become mandatory safety equipment.

Just ask all of us who thought we'd never be storing our entire music libraries on 20-gigabyte hard drives inside our cars and listening to custom-selected radio programs over satellite links, much less letting little plug-in boxes nag us about how to get where we're going, getting those directions from hard-wired digital maps and comparing them with satellite-provided navigational information.

Don't NEVER say "it'll never happen."

The video was entertaining but it was dumb to call someone who is just doing their job a "pig"? Like its the cops fault he caught your dumbass speeding!

Check how many people die each year in car accidents I think its like 50,000, Think how DWI's, Elderly people and other disabled people unable to drive would be helped by this.

I think that this is going to become as common place as Headlights when they get it fixed.

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1283

shows the award ceremony from DARPA's Urban Challenge when Carnegie-Mellon University's team won $2 million for building the same Chevy Tahoe Vanessa's propping up in the video frame.

Moore's Law will take care of the remaining problems with self-guided road vehicles (the "law" which so far has been correct in predicting exponential increases in the power of computers as time goes on).

Australia is already testing out mandatory circuitry to power cars down when they exceed the speed limit - the link to an article about that is here:

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1402

Volvo has an option available right now to flash bright lights and alert the drivers of its cars when they're about to hit something while driving.

I used to work for a university research project in which we recorded driver control motions during driving on test courses and roads, then analyzed them to allow comparisons between able drivers and those with disabilities - eventually we developed a computer-assisted system to assess how well people with disabilities could cope with the physical and mental demands of driving.

From there, it's not too far from developing expert systems capable of driving very well, indeed. I find it significant that after decades of trying to crack this problem with "professional" researchers, DARPA finally got what it wanted by unleashing the power of "amateur" geeks and good old-fashioned competitive energy.

I'm agreeing with the others that it was a nice report until you threw the 'pig' in there. Better check yourself. It's enough that, if I were an employer and saw this as part of your work, I wouldn't schedule an interview with you.

Can't anyone take a joke? I have the utmost respect for officers of the law but I still think it's funny. I hope none of you who were offended watch network television. There's way more offensive stuff out there on mediums that are federally regulated than what was written in this article. Well written DVICE staff! The humor's what keeps me coming back!

Calling an officer of the law a 'pig' is in no way joking. It's quite an offensive label. You want to call them anything other than police officer, then why don't you try cop. And as for network television, the only ones you'll find calling cops 'pigs' are the miscreants that are getting arrested for being dregs of society.

By mikes11706 at 3:32 PM ON 01/09/08

that is so cool but they should have put the tech in a ford cause chevy's break down a lot.

THIS GUY DRIVES A FORD THAT WHY HE'S STILL WALKING. HIS FORD IS BEING TOWED TO THE REPAIR SHOP.NOW SYNC THAT!

Once this is finilized into a smaller size, I see this coming to market in a few years. I think the Lexus already comes with a 'self parker' As will all new automotive technologies, it'll appear on high dollar cars first, then trickle down the the mainstream auto markets. This is going to be awesome when it is finally ready on all autos. No more accidents, DWI's and what not...

Eventually "Manual" driving will be Illegal.

Automated driving will eliminate many problems, among them Drunk Drivers, Old Drivers, Young Drivers, Sleepy Drivers, etc.

Automated Vehicles will drive much faster on our Highways, with minimal distance between each vehicle. Commutes will be faster, and there will be much less Traffic, as most Traffic is caused not by Density, but by ineffienct drivers.

Private ownership of cars will decline, and Public Transportation will be very different. A person will simply call for an Automated Cab, and thru efficient computerized scheduling it will pick you up, deposit you at your destination, and then immediately continue to another customer.

There will be fewer Parking Lots, as most Automats will be in constant, efficient motion.

Life will be easier, greener, and better. Yes !!