A 2010 Volkswagen Passat named Autonomos outfitted with seven radars,nine cameras,seven laser scanners,GPS, an on-board computer etc made a 1500-mile road trip from the United States border at Nogales to Mexico city in one week without the driver touching the steering wheel to take control. The car was developed by Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany.
In a joint effort with the University of Nevada, Professor Raul Rajas and a team from Freie Universitat, which comprised of three German researchers,continued tests of their self-driving Autonomos car in America. Two members(safety drivers) sat in the driver's and passenger seats to keep an eye on the road and watch over the computer and navigation systems. The other researchers followed closely in another vehicle.
The onboard computer uses all the data it got from the hardware to drive the car. With computer in control, the team drove on the highways, deserts,in city streets in urban areas etc, where potholes and wrong lane markings were a major obstacle but the 2010 Volkswajen Passat Autonomous car won out through. It made its final destination at the National Polytechnic University, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, in Mexico City.
Prior to completing its 1500-mile trip from the United States to Mexico, Autonomous had driven 190-mile between Berlin and Leipzig, Germany.The car is equipped with a highly precise GPS system and specialized equipment that allows it to follow a pre-set route, and then drive on its own with other systems controlling speed, direction and braking. A roof antenna receives GPS satellite signals from which a computer calculates the position of the car on the earth's surface.
This is not the first time an autonomous car rode cross-country. In April an Audi Q5 owned by Delphi Corp drove itself from San Francisco to New York city.