Self-parking Cars

It's probably a good guess that if you've damaged a car, it wasn't in a big accident but in a little parking fender bender. Parking is probably the least dangerous thing people can do in a car, but we still manage to mess it up anyway. Though some carmakers have put in rearview cameras, sensors that tell drivers how close they are to surrounding objects -- and even computer generated 360-degree views of the car -- people still manage to scrape, ding and dent their way into parking spaces.

Drivers of the Lexus LS 460 L who opt for the car's Advance Parking Guidance System don't have those problems, though. The system uses sensors all around the car to guide it into a parallel parking space (yes, that means the driver takes his or her hands off the wheel and feet off the pedal). Of course, the system isn't ready for a cameo on "Star Trek" just yet. Before it can work, the driver has to find a parking space, position the car next to it, and use the in-cabin navigation screen to tell the car where it should go. Also, the parking space needs to be 6 feet (1.8 meters) longer than the car (and the LS isn't a short car). Still, the self-parking system is a big achievement in driverless car technology. With it, the car behaves like a driver might -- reading the area around it, reacting accordingly and going safely from point A to point B. While it's not the same as sitting back and relaxing while your car drives you home for the night, it's the first step in that direction.

The next move in driverless car technology may be just around the corner. In fact, some carmakers hope to have driverless cars on the road by 2018. Read on to find out what technology is needed and how it will be applied.