Unmanned Cars Ready To Navigate Traffic Within A Few Years?

The winners of last year's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) artificial intelligence road race claim that they'll have a car ready to navigate urban traffic in less than a year.

1 minute read

February 21, 2007, 9:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"The Stanford car will compete in the agency's third and most challenging derby -- the DARPA Urban Challenge, in which robotic cars will drive in a mock city environment. Cars must merge, navigate traffic, traverse busy intersections, avoid obstacles and master the most delicate of skills -- determining who has the right of way.

...

Stanford and Thrun have been down this road before. Stanford's entry in the 2005 race, Stanley, won first place. But that race was run in the Nevada desert. 'The next challenge will be to drive where we live,' said Thrun, who spoke on a panel about the future of robotics. 'This new generation of robots is making the case that they can safely navigate without any human assistance,' he said."

Tuesday, February 20, 2007 in CNN

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 18, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Woman and young girl looking at subway map, woman pointing.

Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?

Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.

June 9, 2025 - John Pobojewski

Map of EV charging ports in rural U.S. communities.

The EV “Charging Divide” Plaguing Rural America

With “the deck stacked” against rural areas, will the great electric American road trip ever be a reality?

2 hours ago - The Daily Yonder

Google street view of Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn with pedestrians crossing a crosswalk and cyclist in the bike lane.

Judge Halts Brooklyn Bike Lane Removal

Lawyers must prove the city was not acting “arbitrarily, capriciously, and illegally” in ordering the hasty removal.

3 hours ago - StreetsBlog NYC

Close-up of cracked and damaged two-lane roadway with double yellow stripes on a bright sunny day.

Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?

With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.

June 19 - Transportation for America