Driverless car concept revs up

THE concept of driverless cars is gaining traction with car makers and technology firms, as a platform for new technologies to improve road safety.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Toyota and Audi displayed their ideas for autonomous vehicles, in the wake Google's push for its own driverless car.

Toyota attracted significant interest with its electronically modified Lexus sedan, equipped with a host of sensors and cameras that can detect what is around the vehicle.

"It has the ability to drive itself but we won't allow it," said Jim Pisz, corporate manager at Toyota North America.

Pisz says the technology is similar to Google's with the use of electronics but Google is focusing on software mapping.

"That's what they're really good at. Toyota focuses on safety programs and more integrated programs," he said.

The Japanese automaker says its 2013 Lexus LS, also being shown at the expo, already has "the world's most advanced pre-collision safety system" but its driverless cars are only being used in closed research centres, unlike Google's publicised road tours.

The growing use of advanced electronics for auto safety, communications and entertainment has prompted a record eight automakers to attend the Las Vegas show, along with dozens of firms working on related products and services.

"Electronics are vital to our cars. Today's cars are rolling computers," Audi executive Wolfgang Duerheimer told reporters at CES.

The German automaker's Ulrich Hofmann told AFP that the new technology "helps the driver in situations where it's boring to drive, and leaves you to drive when it is fun."

At the Las Vegas tech expo, Audi showed its concept for a driverless vehicle in a simulator.

Hofmann said an autonomous car could be developed within five to eight years but noted that "there are a lot of regulatory and legal issues."

Ford Motor Co researcher Pim van der Jagt says the US auto giant halted its program on driverless cars several years ago.

The concept "seemed so far out, it didn't make sense having big teams working on it," he said.

However, Ford resumed its program because of the interest in the Google car.

Nevertheless, "a full autonomous car is far out, and may even never exist," van der Jagt said.

Audi engineers envision an on-off switch which could be used in traffic jams on highways, where vehicles could join a type of "motorcade" travelling at identical speeds, freeing a driver for a few moments.

In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill clearing the way for self-driving cars so the technology could be tested on the state's roads.

The state of Nevada in May 2012 issued a licence plate giving Google's self-driving car the green light to travel along public roads.

The growing interest in autonomous cars has sparked a fresh look at how the tech sector - which has been under fire for fuelling "distracted driving" - can improve auto safety and the driving experience.

"Everybody gets distracted at some point," said Steven Wenger of Mobileye, a company that makes equipment for crash avoidance for major automakers and as a consumer aftermarket device.

"Three seconds could save a person's life. We want people to be aware of these technologies which can help avoid accidents."

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