Free Republic

Google knows that its self-driving cars are going to get into accidents — maybe even accidents involving pedestrians — and so the company has patented a unique solution to minimize injuries if this happens: human flypaper. The patent, granted earlier this week, describes "an adhesive layer positioned on the front end of the vehicle" that pedestrians will simply stick to "in the event of a collision."

Elon Musk's Tesla recently became the latest big shot company to enter the self-driving car sweepstakes. Mr. Musk recently announced the hiring of software architecture veteran Jim Keller, who previously had played key roles at Apple and AMD, to lead its Autopilot Engineering team. Teslas move follows the recently announced partnership between General Motors and Lyft, in which the automaker is investing $500 million in the ridesharing company as part of a joint venture to develop self-driving cars. And of course Google, Uber, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Apple, Audi, Bosch and Delphi Automotive (the big auto parts manufacturer) all have their own...

Well 2016 has rolled around and one of the first articles I saw was about George Hotz and his home-brew self driving car. He is claiming that his car is not programmed by rules to drive, but rather was taught to drive by watching him drive. If this is true, then we need to chat. First, every Freeper should read this article in it's entirety. http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-george-hotz-self-driving-car/ Second, we really need to think about what this will mean to us in a future that is coming a lot faster than any of you all might think. What will it mean when...

Nissan said it will have self-driving cars for the mass market by 2020. The company has unveiled an aggressive plan to build such cars that are commercially viable within two “vehicle generations.”The company demonstrated its self-driving car tech for the first time at Nissan 360 in Southern California yesterday. It presented Nissan Leafs tricked out with laser scanners, around-view monitor cameras, and artificial intelligence to the audience as a glimpse of a future where our cars drive us.“Nissan Motor Company’s willingness to question conventional thinking and to drive progress – is what sets us apart,” said CEO Carlos Ghosn....

It has proved one of the most endearing of cinematic legends - a loveable car with a mind of its own that can drive itself. And for 40 years Herbie - or the 'Love Bug' - as the Volkswagen Beetle was dubbed in its first movie outing - has enthralled millions of families in a series of Hollywood sequels. But now German car giant Volkswagen has turned fiction into reality by unveiling a fully automatic car which really can drive itself - and at speeds of up to 150mph. It can weave with tyres screeching around tricky bends and chicanes,...