Scientists from Berlin's Free University have unveiled a "car of the future" which weaves through traffic on its own and is completely computer-controlled has been allowed to hit the road.

 

The vehicle maneuvers through traffic on its own using a sophisticated combination of devices, including a computer, electronics and a precision satellite navigation system in the trunk, a camera in the front, and laser scanners on the roof and around the front and rear bumpers.

 

Raul Rojas, the head of the university's research group for artificial intelligence, said: "The vehicle can recognize other cars on the road, pedestrians, buildings and trees up to 70 meters (yards) around it and even see if the traffic lights ahead are red or green and react accordingly."

 

He said :"In fact, the car's recognition and reaction to its environment is much faster than a human being's reaction."

 

The scientists have worked on their research car, a Volkswagen Passat worth 400,000 euros ($551,800) with lots of built-in special technology, for four years.

 

Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, a professor for automotive economics at the University of Duisburg, estimated that with the technology advances, it could only take another decade for the fully automatic cars to start becoming available for consumers.

 

However, he said, that besides the technological issues, the legal challenges would be another issue that needed to be regulated: "Who will be responsible when there's an accident — the owner or the passenger of the computer-controlled car or the company that produced it?"

 

The university researchers received a special permit from the city's security and safety controllers in June to use it in regular traffic — under the condition that a driver sits behind the steering wheel, even if he doesn't touch anything.

 

Rojas estimates that once the technology — specifically the sensors — gets less expensive, such cars will eventually conquer the roads.

 

 

柏林自由大学的科学家透露，一辆完全由电脑控制、可以自己穿梭于车流中的“未来汽车”已获准上路。

 

在演示中，这辆车可以通过一套复杂的装备组合自己穿梭于车流中，这些装备包括一台电脑、车尾行李箱中安装的精密卫星导航系统和电子设备、一架车前照相机以及在车顶和前后保险杠附近安装的激光扫描器。

 

柏林自由大学人工智能研究团队的领导者劳尔•罗哈斯说：“这一交通工具可以识别路上的其他车辆、行人、建筑和距其70米以内的树，甚至还能识别前方红绿灯的颜色，并做出相应动作。”

 

他说：“实际上，这辆车对环境的识别和反应速度要比人还要快。”

 

这辆大众爬萨特汽车价值400,000欧元（551,800美元），内置许多特殊技术成果，科学家们已经花了4年的时间研究它。

 

杜伊斯堡大学汽车经济学教授斐迪南•杜登霍夫尔曾预测，随着技术的进步，再过十年，消费者就可以买到全自动的汽车了。”

 

但是他表示，除了科技上的问题，（这种汽车）又受到法律上的质疑，（法律）需要规定：“当事故发生时，谁需要负责，是车主还是受电脑控制的汽车，还是生产该车的公司。”

 

6月,柏林自由大学研究人员得到了来自城市安全管理者的特许，允许该车在常规交通中使用，但条件是车内方向盘前必须坐一名司机，即便这名司机不需要做任何事。

 

罗哈斯预测，一旦这一科技成果，特别是传感器，变得便宜些，这种车最终将成为公路霸主。