The Car that Drives Itself

The Car that Drives Itself

Jul 13, 2006
1 minute read
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If you liked Herbie the Love Bug, then youll love Volkswagens self-driving VW Golf GTi 53 plus 1. The German auto-maker took the concept of the lovable car with a mind of its own off the silver screen and onto the streets with this new prototype, initially built to help VW engineers test out vehicles. It can steer, brake, and accelerate up to 150 mph without any human intervention.

The most salient point though, is how the GTi 53 finds its way. It isnt remote-controlled or preprogrammed: It uses grill-mounted radar and laser sensors to read the road and send back details to the cars computer, and a GPS navigation system can pinpoint the cars position to within an inch. To help convince naysayers, VW invited guests to put the car to the test by designing their own roadcone courses and watching the GTi zip through on its own.

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