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I've been testing a new car, but I never actually drove it. That's because it drives itself. It's the shape of things to come: autonomous vehicles rolling along without human drivers. Hyundai is the latest automaker to take the wraps off of its self-driving technology. For Hyundai, this comes in the form of research versions of the company's new Ioniq. I rode along with an engineer from Hyundai, recording the journey as we traversed the streets of Las Vegas. The test vehicles, with large "Autonomous" decals emblazoned on the sides, were two Ioniq compact cars, an EV (or electric vehicle)...

Prematurely accelerating the implementation of fully autonomous trucking (no driver in the cab) seems like an idea that could be fraught with risk. While driverless long-haul trucks have the potential to increase economic productivity by enabling more cost-effective transport of goods, the technology is not yet ready for prime time. There is growing pressure, however, to make it a reality sooner rather than later – particularly as long-distance trucking faces a worsening driver shortage. At the same time, highway infrastructure in many parts of the country is clearly inadequate even for today’s traffic, let alone a mixed bag of driven...

Someone slam the brakes on this plan. In a national first, Uber is poised to put a fleet of self-driving cars on Pittsburgh streets. But there's no way people should be permitted to hail rides from semi-autonomous cars until Uber significantly tweaks its vehicular software. Artificial Intelligence apparently passed its driver's exam, the cars will have emergency backup drivers, and Uber presumably has programmed the vehicles to navigate the streets as safely as possible. Therein lies the problem. Most people seldom drive as safely as possible, particularly in this town. To put it in terms this sports-obsessed city can best...

A new study explores a moral dilemma facing the creators of self-driving vehicles: In an accident, whose lives should they prioritize? So youÂ’re driving down a dark road late at night when suddenly a child comes darting out onto the pavement. Instinctively, you swerve, putting your own safety in jeopardy to spare her life. Very noble of you. But would you want your driverless vehicle to do the same? That question, which can be found idling at the intersection of technology and ethics, is posed in the latest issue of Science. A variation on the famous trolley dilemma, it wonÂ’t...

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...

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) -- About four years ago, the Google team trying to develop cars driven by computers - not people - concluded that sooner than later, the technology would be ready for the masses. There was one big problem: No state had even considered whether driverless cars should be legal. And yet this week, Google said it wants to give Californians access to a small fleet of prototypes it will make without a steering wheel or pedals. The plan is possible because, by this time next year, driverless cars will be legal in the tech giant's home state.

PITTSBURGH —A Pennsylvania congressman traveled to Pittsburgh International Airport in a driverless car designed by Carnegie Mellon University. Rep. Bill Shuster, a Republican from Altoona, made the 33-mile trip at about 11 a.m. Wednesday. Shuster is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and he was accompanied by Barry Schoch, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. A Carnegie Mellon engineer was in the driver's seat as a safety precaution, but the Cadillac SXR was driven along local roads and highways by a computer system which uses inputs from radars, lidars and infrared cameras.

Google has been testing a fleet of autonomous vehicles on U.S. roadways for quite some time now, and other companies such as Mercedes-Benz are adding more advanced technology to aid drivers. We now have cars that can automatically stop, parallel park themselves and even detect when another car is in a blind spot. Google executives have previously said that they would like to see self-driving vehicles on the road within three to five years, however it may not happen that quickly. Industry experts believe that by 2020, car computers will handle much of the work when traveling at high speeds and five years...

California’s proposed bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco—which Gov. Jerry Brown is likely to sign off on soon—has been characterized by the Obama administration and its other supporters as an effective way to reduce highway congestion. These costs amount to more than $100 billion annually in wasted time and higher fuel expenses. In fact, a much better technological solution is on the horizon, if we pave the way by getting rid of obsolete highway design. It is already possible to imagine a world in which you could predict exactly how long it would take to drive in your...

A car driven by a hi-tech ghost of laser sensors and computers went on exhibit in London Wednesday, before it competes against other robot cars in the United States in November. The Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI drives using two eye-like laser sensors in the front and one in the back that scan road conditions, buildings, other vehicles and pedestrians over a range of up to 200 metres (650 feet). An on-board computer digests and acts on the information using software developed by the Hamburg, Germany-based Ibeo Automobile Sensor company, said company experts displaying the car at the Science Museum in...