Having a car that can drive itself has long been the stuff of science fiction. But scientists have now created a robot car – controlled by an iPad. And the Oxford University team says the technology could be installed in mainstream cars within 15 years. It means futuristic vehicles, like David Hasselhoff’s KITT in the 1980s TV series Knight Rider, could soon be driving us on the commute and school run. Scroll down for video . LOOK NO HANDS . RobotCar, a specially adapted Nissan Leaf electric car, has small cameras and lasers built into its chassis. When the car is driven manually the lasers and cameras act as its ‘eyes’, mapping a 3D model of its surroundings, which is fed into a computer stored in the boot. The car can then ‘remember’ roads and suburbs, allowing it to drive itself along familiar routes. It asks the driver via an iPad on the dashboard whether they want to engage the autopilot and, at a touch of the screen, the car takes over the controls. A laser under the front bumper scans the direction of travel around 13 times per second for obstacles, such as pedestrians, cyclists, or other cars, up to 164ft ahead and in an 85 degree field of view. If the car sees an obstacle, it slows and comes to a controlled stop. The driver can also tap the brake pedal, like in current cruise control systems, to regain control from the computer at any time. Car in control: An Oxford University scientist demonstrates their newly developed navigation system . The . scientists behind the system say it is far superior to conventional . satellite navigation because it is much more precise – reading to within . a fraction of an inch compared with a few yards with sat-nav – and the . car does not need a satellite reference to know where it is. At . £5,000, the prototype is also far cheaper than any other currently in . development – and the aim is to produce one for as little as £100 in the . near future. Project leader . Professor Paul Newman, of Oxford University’s engineering science . department, said that the technology would be especially valuable for . drivers who perform regular routes, such the daily commute or school . run. He added: ‘We are . working on a low-cost auto drive navigation system that doesn’t depend . on GPS, done with discreet sensors that are getting cheaper all the . time. ‘It’s easy to imagine that this kind of technology could be in a car you could buy. Accept? Tapping on the brakes returns control of the vehicle to the driver . ‘Instead . of imagining some cars driving themselves all of the time, we should . imagine a time when all cars can drive themselves some of the time. ‘The sort of low-cost, low-footprint autonomy we are developing is what’s needed for everyday use.’ Last year, Google announced a self-driving car which it said had covered more than 140,000 miles on American roads. The RobotCar has fewer sensors and relies more heavily on an on-board 3D street map. The . basic map could potentially be maintained by local councils or highway . authorities and regularly updated by vehicles. For insurance reasons, . the RobotCar has so far only been allowed to drive on autopilot on the . private roads of Begbroke Science Park, Oxford. But the scientists are in talks with the Department for Transport to see how and when it could be used on public roads. The . next stage of the research will be to make the car recognise and . understand complex traffic flows and make decisions on which routes to . take. Professor Newman . added: ‘While there’s lots more work to do, it shows the potential for . this kind of affordable robotic system that could make our car journeys . safer, more efficient and more pleasant for drivers.’ The scientists behind the system say it is far superior to conventional . satellite navigation because it is much more precise - within a fraction . of an inch compared to a few yards with sat-nav - and the car does not . need a satellite reference to know where it is. At £5,000, the prototype is also considerably cheaper than any other . currently in development, although the aim is to produce one for as . little as £100 in the not too distant future. Professor Paul Newman, of Oxford University’s engineering science . department, who is leading the project, said the technology would be . especially valuable for drivers who perform regular routes, such the . daily commute or school run. ‘We are working on a low-cost auto drive navigation system that doesn’t . depend on GPS, done with discreet sensors that are getting cheaper all . the time,’ Prof Newman said. ‘It’s easy to imagine that this kind of technology could be in a car you could buy. ‘Instead of imagining some cars driving themselves all of the time we . should imagine a time when all cars can drive themselves some of the . time. The sort of very low-cost, low-footprint autonomy we are . developing is what’s needed for everyday use.’ Already there are cars . that can park themselves and last year Google announced its self-driving . car saying that it had covered more than 140,000 miles on American . roads. Look, no hands! The car would take over the driving on familiar routes . The car can sense people in the road and stop when in autodrive mode . The Oxford car differs from Google’s by having fewer sensors and relying . more heavily on an on-board three dimensional map of streets. The basic map could potentially be maintained by local councils or highway authorities and regularly updated by vehicles. For insurance, legal and health and safety reasons, the RobotCar has so . far only been allowed to drive on private roads around the scientists’ Begbroke Science Park on autopilot. But they are currently in talks with . the Department of Transport to see how and when it could be used on . public roads. The next stage of their research, which is part funded by the . Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and is a . collaboration between the university and sponsors Nissan, Guidance . Navigation and Mira, will be to make the car recognise and understand . complex traffic flows and make decisions on which routes to take. The Department for Transport estimates that cost of congestion will rise . to £24billion a year by 2025 so vehicles, like this prototype, could . help alleviate some of those costs by avoiding jams and giving the . driver time off to do other tasks. Prof Newman added: ‘While there’s lots more work to do, it shows the . potential for this kind of affordable robotic system that could make our . car journeys safer, more efficient and more pleasant for drivers.’ For more information visit www.robotcar.org.uk .
Scientists say the technology could be installed in cars within 15 years .
RobotCar is adapted Nissan Leaf electric that has inbuilt lasers and cameras .
They act as 'eyes' mapping out 3D routes fed into computer in the car's boot .
Car can be put into 'autodrive' on familiar routes by tapping on an iPad .
Car slows to a controlled stop if there is an obstruction in the road .
Driver can take back control by tapping on the brakes .
Having a car that can drive itself has long been the stuff of science fiction. But scientists have now created a robot car – controlled by an iPad. And the Oxford University team says the technology could be installed in mainstream cars within 15 years. It means futuristic vehicles, like David Hasselhoff’s KITT in the 1980s TV series Knight Rider, could soon be driving us on the commute and school run. Scroll down for video . LOOK NO HANDS . RobotCar, a specially adapted Nissan Leaf electric car, has small cameras and lasers built into its chassis. When the car is driven manually the lasers and cameras act as its ‘eyes’, mapping a 3D model of its surroundings, which is fed into a computer stored in the boot. The car can then ‘remember’ roads and suburbs, allowing it to drive itself along familiar routes. It asks the driver via an iPad on the dashboard whether they want to engage the autopilot and, at a touch of the screen, the car takes over the controls. A laser under the front bumper scans the direction of travel around 13 times per second for obstacles, such as pedestrians, cyclists, or other cars, up to 164ft ahead and in an 85 degree field of view. If the car sees an obstacle, it slows and comes to a controlled stop. The driver can also tap the brake pedal, like in current cruise control systems, to regain control from the computer at any time. Car in control: An Oxford University scientist demonstrates their newly developed navigation system . The . scientists behind the system say it is far superior to conventional . satellite navigation because it is much more precise – reading to within . a fraction of an inch compared with a few yards with sat-nav – and the . car does not need a satellite reference to know where it is. At . £5,000, the prototype is also far cheaper than any other currently in . development – and the aim is to produce one for as little as £100 in the . near future. Project leader . Professor Paul Newman, of Oxford University’s engineering science . department, said that the technology would be especially valuable for . drivers who perform regular routes, such the daily commute or school . run. He added: ‘We are . working on a low-cost auto drive navigation system that doesn’t depend . on GPS, done with discreet sensors that are getting cheaper all the . time. ‘It’s easy to imagine that this kind of technology could be in a car you could buy. Accept? Tapping on the brakes returns control of the vehicle to the driver . ‘Instead . of imagining some cars driving themselves all of the time, we should . imagine a time when all cars can drive themselves some of the time. ‘The sort of low-cost, low-footprint autonomy we are developing is what’s needed for everyday use.’ Last year, Google announced a self-driving car which it said had covered more than 140,000 miles on American roads. The RobotCar has fewer sensors and relies more heavily on an on-board 3D street map. The . basic map could potentially be maintained by local councils or highway . authorities and regularly updated by vehicles. For insurance reasons, . the RobotCar has so far only been allowed to drive on autopilot on the . private roads of Begbroke Science Park, Oxford. But the scientists are in talks with the Department for Transport to see how and when it could be used on public roads. The . next stage of the research will be to make the car recognise and . understand complex traffic flows and make decisions on which routes to . take. Professor Newman . added: ‘While there’s lots more work to do, it shows the potential for . this kind of affordable robotic system that could make our car journeys . safer, more efficient and more pleasant for drivers.’ The scientists behind the system say it is far superior to conventional . satellite navigation because it is much more precise - within a fraction . of an inch compared to a few yards with sat-nav - and the car does not . need a satellite reference to know where it is. At £5,000, the prototype is also considerably cheaper than any other . currently in development, although the aim is to produce one for as . little as £100 in the not too distant future. Professor Paul Newman, of Oxford University’s engineering science . department, who is leading the project, said the technology would be . especially valuable for drivers who perform regular routes, such the . daily commute or school run. ‘We are working on a low-cost auto drive navigation system that doesn’t . depend on GPS, done with discreet sensors that are getting cheaper all . the time,’ Prof Newman said. ‘It’s easy to imagine that this kind of technology could be in a car you could buy. ‘Instead of imagining some cars driving themselves all of the time we . should imagine a time when all cars can drive themselves some of the . time. The sort of very low-cost, low-footprint autonomy we are . developing is what’s needed for everyday use.’ Already there are cars . that can park themselves and last year Google announced its self-driving . car saying that it had covered more than 140,000 miles on American . roads. Look, no hands! The car would take over the driving on familiar routes . The car can sense people in the road and stop when in autodrive mode . The Oxford car differs from Google’s by having fewer sensors and relying . more heavily on an on-board three dimensional map of streets. The basic map could potentially be maintained by local councils or highway authorities and regularly updated by vehicles. For insurance, legal and health and safety reasons, the RobotCar has so . far only been allowed to drive on private roads around the scientists’ Begbroke Science Park on autopilot. But they are currently in talks with . the Department of Transport to see how and when it could be used on . public roads. The next stage of their research, which is part funded by the . Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and is a . collaboration between the university and sponsors Nissan, Guidance . Navigation and Mira, will be to make the car recognise and understand . complex traffic flows and make decisions on which routes to take. The Department for Transport estimates that cost of congestion will rise . to £24billion a year by 2025 so vehicles, like this prototype, could . help alleviate some of those costs by avoiding jams and giving the . driver time off to do other tasks. Prof Newman added: ‘While there’s lots more work to do, it shows the . potential for this kind of affordable robotic system that could make our . car journeys safer, more efficient and more pleasant for drivers.’ For more information visit www.robotcar.org.uk .
now created a robot car – controlled by an iPad. technology could be installed in mainstream cars within 15 years. It means futuristic vehicles, Nissan Leaf electric car, has small cameras and driven manually the lasers and cameras act as its ‘eyes’, mapping a 3D model of its surroundings, which is fed into a computer stored in the boot. said that the technology would be especially you could buy. Accept? Tapping on the brakes car would take over the driving on familiar routes . The car can sense people in the road and