With autonomous vehicles at the top of car manufacturer's to-do lists, many are focusing on the basic technology required to get self-driving cars on the road -- and we've seen a number of partnerships formed as a result. Renault, however, is looking further ahead and has partnered with French road toll operator Sanef to develop technology that works with existing road infrastructure. Namely toll barriers, which Sanef, with 1,700km of road under its control, is famously zealous about.

One of the overarching questions surrounding self-driving cars is what happens at barrier road crossings -- a simple obstacle for a regular car and driver but a massive challenge for autonomous vehicles in providing continuous eyes-off/hands-off travel. The two firms are therefore developing equipment which will allow toll road infrastructure to communicate with cars using short-range WiFi, enabling the vehicles to take appropriate action.