LONDON (DS): The UK government has just announced that, as of January 2015, driverless cars will be able to be tested on public roads. But what exactly is a ‘driverless car’ and, more importantly, why should we want one?At the moment, there are quite a few cars in existence which come very close to what a driverless car really needs to be.The Mercedes-Benz S Class immediately springs to mind as it features a hugely intelligent radar-based cruise control that pretty much allows it to drive itself.
The problem is that the moment you take your hands off the wheel, the system will cut out. This is where the term ‘driverless car’ comes in. Essentially any vehicle that lets you get into it, punch in a destination and be driven wherever you want, this is what going driverless is all about. Pretty much every major auto manufacturer actually has a fully functioning driverless vehicle. Some, however, are better than others. Driverless technology really kicked into gear with the DARPA Grand Challenge, a taxing 123-mile race across the Mojave Desert which vehicles had to do entirely without drivers.