Delphi Automotive’s autonomous vehicle has successfully completed the longest automated drive in North America – the first coast-to-coast trip ever taken by a self-driving vehicle.

The Audi Q5-based prototype traveled from San Francisco to New York, covering a distance of nearly 3,400 miles (5,472 km) in fully automated mode 99 percent of the drive.

Delphi engineers used the trip to research and collect information that will help further advance active safety technology. The team collected nearly three terabytes of data, which is equivalent to about 30 percent of all of the printed material in the Library of US Congress.

“Our vehicle performed remarkably well during this drive, exceeding our expectations. The knowledge obtained from this trip will help optimize our existing active safety products and accelerate our future product development, which will allow us to deliver unsurpassed automotive grade technologies to our customers,” said Jeff Owens, Delphi chief technology officer.

During the nine-day trip, the autonomous vehicle crossed 15 states and the District of Columbia and encountered all sorts of driving situations such as traffic circles, construction zones, bridges, tunnels, aggressive drivers and a variety of weather conditions.

Delphi’s autonomous vehicle is equipped with a series of advanced technologies and features, including collision mitigation, integrated radar and camera systems, forward collision and lane departure warning.

Scroll down to watch the highlights of the nine-day trip from the following photo gallery and videos.

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VIDEOS