Google says that cars it has programmed to drive themselves have started to master the navigation of city streets and the challenges they bring, from jaywalkers to weaving bicyclists — a critical milestone for any commercially available self-driving car technology.
Hydrogen- and solar-powered vehicles are on the streets. So are cars that can get you through stop-and-go traffic while you sit back and send texts from behind the wheel. Cars are even using radar, ultrasonic waves and cameras to jump into the passing lane and get around slowpokes.
Automated vehicle technology is advancing rapidly. But some automakers fret the public and regulators aren’t ready yet. Technology that will allow cars to operate with minimal input from human drivers is being demonstrated more openly by a few automakers, notably Audi, Toyota’s Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. The technology will be available in a few years, they say.
