Current Driverless Car Technology

One of the main impetuses behind the call for driverless cars is safety. Because driver inattention and driver error cause so many accidents each year, it's natural for carmakers to focus their efforts on systems that can make cars safe, even if drivers aren't. There's a continuum of these "driverless" systems -- some don't seem driverless at all, and others are on par with science fiction cars.

One of the driverless systems that you may not have realized was driverless is anti-lock brakes. Sounds surprising, doesn't it? After all, anti-lock brakes need the driver in order to work. Still, they represent one end of the driverless continuum because anti-lock brakes perform a function that drivers used to have to do themselves. When a car is braking hard and doesn't have anti-lock brakes, the wheels can lock up, sending the car into an out-of-control skid. In a car without anti-lock brakes, the driver has to pump the brake pedal to keep the wheels from locking up. With anti-lock brakes, the system does the pumping for the driver -- and does it better than the driver. The system can read the wheels and knows when they are about to lock and react faster and with a more appropriate response than a driver could. Anti-lock brakes are one of the first technologies that take cars in a driverless direction.

Another type of driverless system is traction or stability control. These systems are so transparent that usually only professional drivers recognize when they've taken control. Like anti-lock brakes, traction and stability control react better than a driver ever could. Unlike anti-lock brakes, these systems are very complicated and use multiple systems within the car to keep the driver from losing control.

Stability and traction control are systems that can detect when a car might go into an out-of-control skid or roll over and work to prevent that from happening. The systems are constantly reading the car's direction, speed and how well each wheel is connecting to the road. When it detects the car going out of control or starting to roll, stability or traction control will step in. Unlike a driver, these systems can apply brakes and increase or decrease power to individual wheels, which is often better than brakes or power being applied to all four wheels. When working properly, the system gives just the right response, unlike drivers, who often over-correct during emergency maneuvers.

Continue reading to learn about the more sci-fi driverless car tech already on the road.