Well, I thought that this day was way farther off than it seems. Apparently there are several designers and universities around the globe that have successfully designed cars that can drive themselves, without any real human intervention. Some of these cars have been able to navigate through lanes, obey traffic signs, make U-turns, and even avoid obstacles. Some scientists predict that by the year 2020 our roads will be operated by driverless cars. The intent of these new cars is to prevent traffic jams, as well as protect the human race, since it is estimated that 1,000,000 people die each year in car accidents.

How do they work? Each of these cars use a camera, lasers, and  GPS sensors that shoot out light beams which can detect reflections, thus determining the distance from the obstacles. Some of the sensor beams are located on the roof of the car where they can detect objects from up to 100 meters away. Other sensors are attached to the bottom part of the car where they constantly scan the road and lane markers.

My only question is, what happens if the lasers or computer chips malfunction or something like that? I mean, the computers we use today aren’t perfect and are surely capable of crashing, so that would be kinda scary to be in a car when something like that happens.

If you wish to see some of these cars in action you can check them out at this following link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=P5aMHRwokXQ