Autonomous Vehicles for Personal Transport: A Technology Assessment

Abstract

Whether it was flying cars or jetpacks, we were all promised a compelling vision of the future at some point in our childhoods. And, although it may seem like science fiction, autonomous vehicles — cars that drive themselves — are more than just a promise; they are a growing reality. The widespread coverage in October 2010 of Google’s fleet of Toyota Prii that continue to navigate the highways of California was a clear message to the world that this technology is fact, not fiction. Questions remain, however, as to whether or not the world and the marketplace are ready for this technology.

To explore this topic, we conducted an assessment of the current status of autonomous vehicle technologies in the U.S to the best of our own extent. We focused mainly on those technologies that are applicable to modern cars driven on existing, unmodified public roads. Our geographical focus was mainly on the west coast of the United States where a hotbed of activity regarding this technology is located.

Keywords: driverless vehicle, automatic driving, Google, autonomous car, adaptive cruise control, Caltech

JEL Classification: O3, R4