Unmanned in the Streets: China Company Demos Driverless Car

China's grandees may soon find themselves chauffeured in limos navigated by the people's microchips. A Chinese car company recently tested a luxury model that can recognize its enviroment, and handle such driver-intensive tasks as making a turnoff, stopping at street crossings, staying within roadway lines and complimenting passengers on their glorious factories (with a little extra programming). The driverless car, a Hongqi HQ3 built by China's First Auto Works, topped out at around 37 mph, but the company says it can go over 90 without becoming confused. We'd just as soon leave trying that out to the grandees. More »

Golf, Drive Thyself: Volkswagen Builds Self-Driving Hatchback

Volkswagen's unveiled a fully self-driving hatchback that can take its meatware friends for a ride. Sporting a Byzantine system of sensors (radar and laser), sat-nav and software, the GTI can negotiate a race course, swerve through cones and hit speeds of up to 150 mph — whether it can clear a mountain pass or navigate the Lincoln Tunnel at rush hour remains to be seen. An obvious reference to Herbie the Love Bug is not lost on the company's engineers, who've named the GTI "53 Plus 1" in honor of Herbie's racing number. Journos, like those at the UK's Daily Mail visited the company's Wolfsburg track and got to design courses for the robotic Herbert (c'mon, he's like 40 years old now) to follow. More »

Do You Want to Play a Game?: BMW's Thermal Imaging System in Action

Automotive portal AutoMotoPortal brings us this clip from BMW that shows its thermal-imaging "night vision" at work. Watch as the driver of a 7-Series avoids a man and a woman engaged in some midnight fitness activities on a desolate street. No, not that kind. That's a whole 'nuther kind of German video. More »

Self-Parking Prius Coming to the US

Technogeeks, boot your engines. The US-model Toyota Prius hybrid will soon be offered with the same optional self-parking system that's been thwarting evil plots of license test monitors all over the UK. Across the pond it's a $700 option, though 70 percent of Prius buyers opt for it. When set, the system controls the entire parallel-parking process; the driver only has to attend to braking and wave to disinterested passersby with both hands. More »

GM to Launch Auto Pilot, of Sorts, on 2008 Opel Vectra

GM announced it will offer a self-driving system on the 2008 Opel Vectra. The system will use a camera, laser beams, heavy-duty computer algorithms and a small, green Martian named Kazoo (holla Flinstones!) to pilot the car at up to 60 mph in rush-hour traffic, while the driver reads a copy of Der Spiegel and munches on a fresh Krueller. More »

BMW 7-Series to get Infrared-Detection System

Beginning later this year, BMW will offer a thermal imaging system on its 7 Series that will allow drivers to see living beings (and hot-dog trucks open for business) on an LCD screen, long before they come into view unassisted. Known as BMW Night Vision, the system works in the same way some military-issue night-vision goggles detect heat sources and register them as light, using Far Infrared (FIR) technology. Objects that are directly in front will register brighter than objects to the sides, in an area of up to 300 meters ahead of the vehicle. The system will be available in 7 Series models in fourth quarter 2005. More »