Driverless Cars For Everyone Within 10 Years

Driverless cars could be within the price range of the average person in just ten years, Australian researchers claim.

This will be made possible by a new 'eyes and ears' technology developed by researchers from Curtin University in Perth. The technology comprises a dozen different sensors installed in an average car, paired with an algorithm that processes the large amount of data received. This creates meaningful information which tells the car the nature and location of obstacles, researchers said.

Associate Professor Dr Ba Tuong Vo, from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said this autonomous car, created through a joint project between Curtin, Daimler (the research arm of Mercedes Benz) and Ulm University in Germany, would be commercially viable because it does not need to be connected to internet and can be produced at a low cost.

"Our goal was to use affordable sensors, radars, lasers and computer technology that is already available on the market, so the car is more likely to be accessible for people, unlike the small number of driverless cars that currently exist costing hundreds of thousands of dollars each," Vo said.