'Eyes' developed for driverless car
Updated on 12 April 2007
A driverless car, complete with laser sensors which act as "eyes", has been shown off in London.
The autonomous control equipment has been put into a "normal" Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI which was built last year.
The car, which has two "eyes" at the front and one at the back, will stay on display over the Easter holidays at the Science Museum in London.
In November, the car will compete against other driverless vehicles in the third annual DARPA Urban Challenge over a 60-mile course in America.
Christened LUX, the special Volkswagen is the first to be entered in the DARPA event that looks exactly like a standard road model.
The laser sensors scan the vehicle's entire surroundings - including the road conditions, buildings, other vehicles and pedestrians - over a range of up to 200 metres (656ft).
The captured data is transferred to an on-board computer whose software, purpose-developed by the Ibeo Automobile Sensor company, controls the car.
The race presents the ideal conditions for a final test phase of this technological advancement. The Ibeo LUX sensors will be tested under hard competitive conditions before going into small-scale production next year. It is hoped that eventually such technology could be used in production cars.
Ibeo chief executive Ulrich Lages said: "We are competing against the world's best in terms of automobile technology.
"Although we are a relatively small team and, unlike the big players, do not have a large budget, we believe we have a great chance at DARPA 2007. Our innovative laser technology gives us a lead of several years over our prospective rivals, especially in the field of object and environmental detection."
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
