Are we ready for a driverless car?

I was listening to this article on NPR this morning. It sounds like the driverless car is ready to hit the road, as early as 2020 for the general consumer, earlier for testing. This is not a new idea, just an idea waiting for the technology.

I remember an assembly at my school in 1961 or 1962. (Yeah, last millenium!) The presentation was centered around a driverless car concept. The automobile had two engines, one for driving, and one to power accessories. Mind you, this was in the era of gasoline at $0.22/gal ($1.65 in today’s dollars), and no concept, at least publicly, of the problems of hydrocarbon pollution, peak oil, oil shortages, or the like. (blissfully naive!)

The car had a sensor which would read the lane markers on the right side of the road. According to the concept, one would drive the car to the Interstate, program the desired exit, and let the car take over. the “driver”, could then read, sleep, eat (one of the proposed accessories was a refrigerator!), or just enjoy the scenery. When the vehicle approached the desired exit, an alarm would sound so the driver could take over when the exit was reached.

Now, half a century later, the concept is being put in to action with use of technology unknown back then.

What I want to know is, when will we see the Jetsons’ flying car?