ARE WE THERE YET?

IF YOU’VE BEEN READING about autonomous cars and wondering when they’ll be on our roads, here’s a news flash for you: they already are.

Yep, right now in Australia it’s possible to drive down a freeway, hands off the steering wheel and feet off the pedals, sitting in the traffic flow at 100km/h. Hit the indicator and some self-driving cars can even move lanes for you, after checking it’s safe to do so. A newly released Mercedes-Benz can slow and then steer around corners and roundabouts completely unaided. But it’s not just expensive cars getting into the autonomous act. A $27,000 Toyota Corolla hatchback can drive itself, albeit demanding that every few seconds you put your hands back on the steering wheel.

You shouldn’t be surprised; this technology is a logical extension of the digitisation of the car that’s been going on since electronic anti-lock brakes and cruise control first appeared last century. Where a car was once a mechanical device and the engine, suspension and body technology made the headlines, now electronics are driving progress. Go to gaudy Las Vegas for the massive Consumer Electronics Show (or just CES as it’s now known, such is its fame) and you’ll witness a new alliance emerging between car manufacturers and electronics suppliers. Chipset makers such as NVIDIA are the new heroes of vehicle tech, just as carburettor brands might