The Driverless Van Travelling from Italy to China

Driverless cars have been around for quite a few years now, you've probably seen them on the television navigating test tracks with ease. They are normally like full sized remote control cars or have on board systems which can be pre programed for a set journey. Some are more sophisticated and feature on board cameras and lazers to help them avoid obstacles.


A team of Italian engineers have designed two driverless vans which are so advanced that they are capable of driving on public roads. The team are from VisLab who create artificial vision and intelligent systems at the University of Parma. They have set out on a journey from Italy to China to prove the road worthiness of their robotic vehicles.



The team are expecting to experience problems during the 8,000 mile trip stating ""We will definitely need some help by humans. It is not possible to have 100 percent driverless. This is why I call it a test, not a demonstration." There is no need to worry though, there will be operatives in the drivers seats of the vehicles ready to take over in the event of any technical issues. Each driverless van will follow a traditional human controlled van in convoy.

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