… The only accident was when one Google car was rear-ended while stopped at a traffic light.
… The cars used LIDAR, a video camera, four standard automotive radar sensors and a position estimating sensor along with Google AI software.
… The Google project was the brainchild of Sebastian Thrun, director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, a Google engineer, and the co-inventor of the Street View mapping service who said that deployment of the technology is more than eight years away.
… Detailed stories by the NY Times.
UPDATE 10/31/10:
… U of Parma VisionLab’s driverless electric van completes 8,000 mile trip from Italy to the World Expo in Shanghai. The van detects lanes, pedestrians, and other vehicles; estimates slope terrain; as well as plans trajectory, actuation, and control.