"Look, Ma: No Hands." For 8000 Miles, From Italy To China

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Four driverless, autonomous vans finished a trek most drivers would never think of driving: From Italy through Eastern Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and the Gobi Desert, all the way to Shanghai, China. They arrived there last Thursday, just in time for the Expo that closed last weekend. It was a long 8000 mile way, and they never got lost.

Equipped with four solar-powered laser scanners and seven video cameras that work together to detect and avoid obstacles, the vans could navigate through wide extremes in road, traffic and weather conditions. It wasn’t just a road trip, they also collected data to be analyzed for further research in a study sponsored by the European Research Council, report KPHO.

The vans used no maps, sometimes traveling through uncharted regions of Siberia and China. At one point, a van stopped to give a hitchhiker a lift. Though driverless and mapless, the vans carried researchers as passengers and to give a hand when things got dicey. Human intervention was needed when the vehicles got stuck in a Moscow traffic jam. Handling toll stations also still requires the human element – no E-Z Pass in Kazakhstan.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Darth Lefty Darth Lefty on Nov 01, 2010

    But how do they get through Customs?

  • LimpWristedLiberal LimpWristedLiberal on Nov 01, 2010

    UAW driverless cars would only run for 36 hrs a week ... save the manuals ... computers have rare earths. I only had to read the title to post this comment.

  • View2share View2share on Nov 01, 2010

    Driver less cars you say! Heck, in California I swear half the cars are going down the road driver less ... or at best insufficiently.

  • TurboRussell TurboRussell on Nov 01, 2010

    I have a cousin who runs a commercial farm and they're using that same technology on everything from a combine harvester to a 70s Diesel Chevy

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