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Driverless Car Goes On Show In London
London (AFP) April 11, 2007 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 London. In November, the car will compete against other driverless vehicles in the third annual US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge over a 60-mile course in America. "We are competing against the world's best in terms of automobile technology," Ibeo chief executive Ulrich Lages said. "Although we are a relatively small team and, unlike the big players, do not have a large budget, we believe we have a great chance at DARPA 2007," he said. "Our innovative laser technology gives us a lead of several years over our prospective rivals, especially in the field of object and environmental detection," he said. Christened LUX, the refitted Volkswagen that looks exactly like a standard road model is due to go into small-scale production next year and the firm hopes that its technology can eventually be used in production cars. At a conference in the US city of San Francisco in February, scientists predicted robot-driven cars could be shuttling humans around by the year 2030.
Source: Agence France-Presse Related Links Car Technology at SpaceMart.com GPS Applications, Technology and Suppliers All about the robots on Earth and beyond! Car Technology at SpaceMart.com
Made In USA Losing Cachet
Washington (UPI) April 05, 2007The days of legislators gathering at the steps of Capitol Hill to smash Toshiba television sets and Sony stereos in protest of Japanese imports flooding U.S. markets are now a distant memory. In fact, just over a decade later Japanese cars are more popular than ever with U.S. drivers, and what's more, the stigma of driving a non-U.S. brand car has almost all but disappeared. |
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