Audi brought out a self-driving A7 to this year’s edition of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and they didn’t do so in vain and even offered journalists rides in it.
This allowed CNN reporters to discover that while the technology is not yet perfect and sometimes make for a jerky autonomous ride, the progress over last year’s is evident in the packaging – no more exposed wiring looms for 2014.
Ford also brought out its latest advancement in the field: cars that talk to each other. This is different to a system that relies solely on sensors to predict a threat, and Ford’s idea is that you are actually warned in advance. It would probably work best in conjunction with the radar, cameras and lasers.
Navia is another driver-less mobility (self-driving shuttle is what they call it) pod present at the show, and again is one that people actually got a chance to sit in. It’s a slow-moving means of transporting a small group of people around closed roads with no traffic (college campuses are the example given). What’s nice about it is that it’s simple and has already seen active duty, without facing any of the legal challenges – Consumer Reports got to try it out.
By Andrei Nedelea
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