Science News

Nevada made driverless cars legal in the state last year, we armchair futurists sat up a little straighter.

As the United States transitions away from a primarily petroleum-based transportation industry, a number of different alternative fuel sources—ethanol, biodiesel, electricity and hydrogen—have each shown their own promise.

A British team is developing a car that will capable of reaching 1,000mph (1,610km/h).

Powered by a rocket bolted to a Eurofighter-Typhoon jet engine, the Bloodhound SSC (SuperSonic Car) vehicle will mount an assault on the land speed record.

LAS VEGAS — Automakers and government agencies are teaming up to lay the foundations for a future in which smart vehicles can communicate with one another to improve road safety.

In an age when most car companies have a Bluetooth integration features, why isn’t text-to-voice already a standard option? One factor is that not many phones integrate with text-to-speech features like Ford’s. But the prediction is that soon it will catch on, just like a couple of years ago Bluetooth devices made hands-free cell use possible in cars but few phones supported it, but now it is standard.

Self-driving cars are already here, though they are a technology of degrees. Features like adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping technology will be released first. Adaptive cruise control, which automatically adjusts your speed to the car in front of you, is already well-tested. Unlike the past, complex software is enabling more vehicle innovation than the invention of new hardware. It is thanks to software that Google's self-driving hybrids have logged more than 140,000 miles on public roads.

Last month, Google said its self-driving automobile project had logged 200,000 miles without an accident. While today's automakers already use sensitive sensory technology to assist drivers and in some cases, correct them, Google's project goes a step future. It aims to make human drivers into permanent passengers, combining the semi-autonomous cars with conventional vehicles, driven by people, on conventional roads. Besides some sticky technological problems, there remain serious social and legal obstacles.

Automakers want to integrate your smartphone into their latest models, making the car another device that will keep you connected to the Internet. Many advances the auto industry sought to pioneer, such as GPS and video display monitors, have already progressed further and faster through smartphone technology. But for every added feature, engineers must install a safety device to prevent you from smashing into things while you enjoy a phone call or YouTube video.

As our cars become networked—to the Internet and to one another—new trends in technology and society will redefine transportation. What's certain: tomorrow's automobiles will provide experiences that go well beyond driving.

A Google team’s self-driving cars have traveled nearly 200,000 miles on public highways in California and Nevada, 100 percent safely.