Wednesday, 20 February 2013 11:10
English boffins come up with better self driving car
Written by Nick Farrell
Eat your heart out Google
While the world+dog has been praising Google’s efforts at creating a self-driving car, it appears that English boffins have created a better working model. Scientists at Oxford University have developed a self-driving car that can cope with snow, rain and other weather conditions.
To be fair to Google, weather is not something found in California where everything is hot and sunny all the time. The English claim that their system can be fitted to existing cars and could one day cost just £100. Professor Paul Newman (No really) at Oxford University said his new system has been installed in a Nissan Leaf electric car and tested on private roads around the university. The car will stop for pedestrians, and could take over the tedious parts of driving such as negotiating traffic jams or regular commutes.
The car alerts the driver when it is ready to take over and by pressing a button on a screen, the driver can let the computer drive. Unlike the Google car, the Oxford system has been demonstrated on public roads and as long as there is a licenced driver in the driver's seat, "there's no obvious legal barrier to using it on roads now."
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