Autos on autopilot: the evolution of the driverless car

From Michael Knight’s KITT to the Batmobile, the car that drives itself is a well-worn staple of science fiction. And like many other staples of science fiction, it’s a technology that’s now edging ever closer to reality.

Indeed, car-makers, technology suppliers and transport authorities around the world are increasingly viewing the autonomous car as the key to a safer, less congested and more energy efficient road system.

Across Europe, automobile companies including BMW, Volvo and Bosch have all recently tested driverless cars on public roads, and regard autonomous technology as being a key area of their future business.

In the US, search engine giant Google, which has a test fleet of around 10 autonomous cars, has successfully lobbied for changes to legislation in Nevada, Florida and California that enable it to test its technology on the road. And here in the UK the government last month confirmed that road trials of a driverless car developed by Oxford University and Nissan will begin later this year.