Driverless cars to be affordable in just 10 years: Researchers

Driverless cars could be within the price range of the average person in just 10 years, researchers claim. This will be made possible by a new ‘eyes and ears’ technology developed by researchers from Curtin University in Perth.

The technology comprises a dozen different sensors installed in an average car, paired with an algorithm that processes the large amount of data received. This creates meaningful information which tells the car the nature and location of obstacles, researchers said.

Associate professor Dr Ba Tuong Vo from the department of electrical and computer engineering said this autonomous car, created through a joint project between Curtin, Daimler (the research arm of Mercedes Benz) and Ulm University in Germany, would be commercially viable because it does not need to be connected to the internet and can be produced at a low cost.