Driverless car cruises the streets of Berlin

All summer, researchers from the city's Free University have been testing the automobile around the German capital.

The vehicle maneuvers through traffic on its own using a sophisticated combination of devices, including a computer, electronics and a precision satellite navigation system in the trunk, a camera in the front, and laser scanners on the roof and around the front and rear bumpers.

"The vehicle can recognize other cars on the road, pedestrians, buildings and trees up to 70 meters (yards) around it and even see if the traffic lights ahead are red or green and react accordingly," Raul Rojas, the head of the university's research group for artificial intelligence, told reporters at a presentation Friday.

"In fact, the car's recognition and reaction to its environment is much faster than a human being's reaction."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/09/20/2011-09-20_remote_controlled_car_cruises_the_streets_of_berlin_.html#ixzz1YWDNO5Zz



Research assistant Miao Wang, left, and project manager Tinosh
Ganjineh, right, of the Autonomos Labs are pictured inside the remote
controlled car.