Scientists have developed a technology that they say will make driverless cars affordable to normal people within a decade.

The technology is made up of an array of sensors – known as the “eyes and ears” – that can be installed in any car, making it driverless at dramatically lower costs than the autonomous-only vehicles being developed by companies such as Google.

“Our goal was to use affordable sensors, radars, lasers and computer technology that is already available on the market, so the car is more likely to be accessible for people, unlike the small number of driverless cars that currently exist costing hundreds of thousands of dollars each,” said Dr Ba Tuong Vo, associated professor, Curtin University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Developed in partnership with Germany’s Ulm University and Daimler, the research company owned by Mercedes Benz, the system works with an algorithm that turns the sensor data into relevant information about the location and type of obstacles around it.

However, the researchers have considerable work to do before the technology is ready for real-world driving conditions.

“At the moment our autonomous car can drive in a straight line and sense what is around it,” explained Vo.

“The next step is to give it a ‘brain’ or the computer systems which can tell how to react to what is around it and also what to do when an object comes in its path.

“This will be difficult, as it is giving the car total control of all functions, unlike current driver assist technology that focuses on one purpose, such as alerting the driver when the car drifts out of a lane, or cruise control to keep at a certain speed.”

However, in a market that is increasingly becoming very heated, with key players from both the automotive and technology industries looking to stake a claim, the researchers will need to work quickly and be prepared to prove their technology if they are to be successful.

Although the research is between respectable institutions, some will remain sceptical of the lack of video footage or images to accompany the team’s announcements.

However, if the technology proves successful it would be highly significant for the driverless car revolution.

Although Google has achieved considerable attention for its efforts, a technology that can be easily added to current vehicles and cheaply included in future designs is likely to be far more successful across the industry than a single model of vehicle developed by a single company.

Images courtesy of Daniel Böswald.