Mobility
Waymo, Tesla were preceded by a car that hit 180 kph in autonomous driving in 1995
When people think of self-driving cars, Tesla or Waymo often come to mind, but the technology’s roots go back to the 1970s. One early test vehicle was developed in Japan in 1977 and drove using rooftop cameras. German research later achieved higher-speed autonomous runs and long-distance tests, including a 1995 Mercedes trip that was 95 percent self-driven at up to 180 kph. U.S. universities and DARPA competitions also pushed progress.
