Self-drive car technology to be tested on 3,500 trip to New York

Are the days of the self-drive car imminent? A car with no driver in a conventional sense is currently crossing the USA from San Francisco to New York to check how far away we are from sitting back and allowing state-of-the-art technology to take over at the wheel.

How soon before humans can take a back seat in a car driven by technology? Image by Matt Biddulph / CC BY 2.0

On Sunday, Delphi Automotive began its coast-to-coast test of a driverless car, a specially rigged Audi SQ5 SUV as it undertakes the 3,500 journey in time to arrive at the New York International Auto Show on the third of April. Delphi Automotive says it is the “longest automated drive ever attempted in North America.”

There is no need for alarm by other motorists as two engineers are present in the driverless car at all times – one behind the wheel though not driving – in case they need to take control in the event of an emergency. Delphi is using the experience of the journey to acquire data from its sophisticated cameras, lidar laser mapping and radar equipment on board.

MailOnline reports that the car has 20 sensors including four short-range radars. The on-going work and the interest shown in self-driving cars, has led some automakers to believe such cars could be production-ready within ten years.