Self-driving cars are here

VW shows off scary autonomous Golf GTi

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 5 July 2006 / Loading comments

Self-driving Golf GTi

Cars that can drive themselves are here: VW has demonstrated one.

So far, autonomous car technology has consisted of individual features such as white line followers, automatic braking, collision avoidance systems and park assist. But tie them all together and you get a self-driving car, such as VW's all-automatic Golf GTi that can drive itself at speeds of up 150mph, according to the Daily Mail.

The car, dubbed 53 plus 1, can avoid obstacles such as cones, and can speed round a track at high speeds, according to the report. Of course, it's stuffed with technology including radar and laser sensors in the grille linked to a computer plus a GPS sensor that tracks its position.

VW developed the prototype to help its test engineers, presumably so they could automate testing and to add consistency.

But can you expect this technology to appear in a real world car soon, as the report suggests? Problems over insurance -- how do you establish blame? -- and the legal wrangles after a collision don't bear too much thinking about.

What do you think?