SINGAPORE, Dec 19 — It’s some sort of bizarre evolutionary quirk that we — regardless of sex — all think we’re better drivers than we truly are. However, there are new entities that have already proven to be better than most of us at driving: Robots.

Given top-level driving has been compared to chess in three-dimensions, Kasparov vs Deep Blue seems like a prescient outcome.

Internet colossus Google has been testing self-driving cars since 2010 and its fleet has covered more than 3.2-million km. Google’s aim is to develop fully “hands-free” systems that require no human input, but conventional car manufacturers already have semi-autonomous drive systems on sale.

Look Ma, (almost) no hands

In the United States, Tesla rolled out its AutoPilot system that can navigate highways by steering, braking and accelerating without human input, although the driver has to have his or her hands on the steering wheel.

BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have similar systems for highway driving, some of which are cost-optional systems here, and systems that autonomously brake the vehicle if they detect a lack of driver input or attention.

In September this year, we experienced a more advanced system being tested by Toyota/Lexus called the Highway TeamMate Concept. A Lexus GS test mule was fitted with various sensors that most autonomous driving cars have — ultrasonic, sonar, cameras and high-accuracy GPS.

What’s different about this is that it represents another step forward for conventional car systems: The GS test car we sat in was able to drive on a section of Tokyo’s Shuto expressway without any input from the driver.

It changed lanes, signalled correctly, monitored surrounding traffic and kept a safe distance, all with the adroitness of an experienced and attentive driver, which is more than can be said for some human drivers. Also interesting was how the system hardly hesitated when it came to multiple decision making — for instance, slowing down to filter left before exiting the highway and returning to the control of our supervising human driver.

The road to independence

How long will it be before we can actually push a button and let the car drive itself home?

It’s best to see such research as signposts on the way toward fully autonomous driving than an end product, though, as there are still significant hurdles to be crossed.

Google aims to have fully autonomous vehicles on the road in five years. Conventional car makers are treading more carefully, as they still have to manage the crossover between fully automated and hands-on human driving. Toyota aims to have TeamMate-related products out by 2020.

At the far end of the scale, at the Tokyo Motor Show in November, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz unveiled concept cars (the Nissan IDS and Mercedes-Benz Vision Tokyo) that gave some idea of what autonomous cars could look like: Large roomy interiors, lounge seating and retractable steering wheels.

For most of us, the convenience of pushing a button and letting the car drive itself home has always been a Jetson-inspired dream. ― TODAY