Q&A: Driverless Cars

A recent Washington Post article answers 15 questions many people have about driverless cars, including:

1. When are driverless cars going to be available? (Likely, sometime between 2025 and 2030.)
2. How much will they cost? (Way too much now, but $3,000-$5,000 more than regular cars when they hit mass production.)
3. How do they work? (A variety of sensory equipment, as well as GPS and cloud technology.)
4. Can they deal with things like pedestrians, work zones, etc.? (Yes, but they could be better.)
5. Are autonomous cars the same as connected cars? (No.  Connected cars communicate with other cars and highway beacons in order to assist the vehicle’s driver.  This technology could make autonomous cars better.)
6. Will people ride in autonomous vehicles? (Half of people surveyed by Pew Research said “no.”)

The article also discusses the potential effects autonomous cars could have on city planning, congestion, and traffic laws, and includes a great video of Carnegie Melon University’s driverless car navigating Washington, D.C. streets.