Man On The Las Vegas Highway Is The First To Road-Test The Car That Drives - And Parks - Itself
I am travelling along the busy
Interstate 15 highway in Las Vegas. Unpredictable as ever, other
vehicles zip in front and my car slows, stops and accelerates as the
teeming traffic dictates. But
my hands are not on the steering wheel. In fact, I am doing nothing at
all to control the car. And beside me, my only fellow traveller is
equally hands-off. For I am
the first Briton to take a spin in an experimental new Audi A6, which
automatically pilots itself through rush-hour traffic. And with no one
at the controls, it's a scary experience, I'll admit.
'We've already had a contest to see
who can close their eyes the longest while driving,' reveals fellow
passenger Bjorn Giesler, a robotics engineer in the Audi team behind
their latest driverless car experiment. 'The longest anyone's gone is 15
seconds. It's really harrowing.' Close
my eyes? With no one at the controls, I can't help but watch the
surrounding traffic with foreboding. Yet, after several miles amid
motorists who little suspect our car is driving itself, we have had not
so much as a near-miss. This
is the latest advance in the quest for the driverless car: a vehicle
that will chauffeur you around, while you sit back and enjoy the ride.
It's the new frontier for car manufacturers, and the race is on.
Lexus last week also announced plans
for a driverless car, while internet giant Google is licensed to test
autopiloted cars in Nevada. Now Audi has also won the right to test
driverless cars in Nevada, as well as in California and Florida. Audi's
aim is to take the stress out of rush-hour journeys. The system steers
the car at a safe distance from other vehicles, at speeds up to 60km per
hour (37mph.) A driver simply has to push the car's 'traffic jam
assistant' button – and then, in theory at least, just relax. If a vehicle in front slows down, the Audi automatically reduces speed. It accelerates when traffic starts moving again.
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