USA TODAY International Edition
Self- driving car soon to begin trek across U. S.
Automotive component- supplier Delphi will send an automated car 3,500 miles across the country — from San Francisco to New York — in a coast- to- coast test- drive that will push self- driving car technology to its limits.
It would be the first crosscountry trip, and the longest, in a self- driving vehicle.
A team of Delphi engineers will leave California in a highly modified Audi crossover SUV loaded with special cameras, radar and software on March 22 hoping to arrive in New York City during the first week of the New York International Auto Show, which opens to the public April 4.
The car will travel for six to eight hours each day and will be tested by a team of Delphi engi- neers who will be watching the car’s performance closely.
“Whenever we are on the road, we will always have a driver in the seat,” said Jeff Owens, Delphi’s VP and chief technical officer,” Owens said. “It’s all about … staying alert.”
Drivers probably will wind up doing some of the maneuvering in urban areas.
And New York requires a hand on the wheel, Delphi says, so the trip won’t be entirely autonomous motoring.
The test drive will give Delphi the opportunity to collect a tremendous amount of data that the company says will be invaluable as the industry explores various forms of autonomous vehicles.
The potential for self- driving, or autonomous, cars, has tantalized the automotive industry for years.
Self- driving demonstration ve- hicles date back more than 80 years.
Ford’s chief executive officer, Mark Fields, predicted in January that an automaker could launch an autonomous car within the next five years, while a recent study by consulting firm McKinsey predicts it will take until about 2025.
“A lot of things need to be solved to get to autonomous driving,” Owens said.
“We don’t have the regulatory environment ( necessary) anywhere in the world, and we don’t have the legal framework.”
To follow the progress, go to: www.delphidrive.com.