Cars are one of the greatest technological marvels in the 21st-century. They evolved from simple pieces of metal bolted together and fitted with wheels to complex machinery using the artificial intelligence known as autonomous cars. Autonomous vehicles are today’s engine prepared for the future- they are equipped with the latest radar sensors, AI, navigation tools, etc. These cars can drive themselves without human interference.

To better understand how autonomous cars work, let us look at some of their leading manufacturers:

1. Tesla

Born in the arms of one of the most brilliant people in the world, Elon Musk’s, Tesla is a complete definition of an autonomous vehicle brand. These vehicles come in two versions; Autopilot and Full-Self drive. Autopilot has adaptive features such as cruise controls and automatic steering, while the latter is more advanced. Since 2016, the company has been working on Full-Self-Drive cars by developing software that can be updated. This software has a computing package which when it matures, every vehicle will be updated to self-drive.

2. Waymo

Google launched a secret operation in 2009 to join the race of manufacturing driverless cars which was successful. The company used Toyota Prius as their pilot cars. After countless hours and millions of investments in Toyota Prius, Google achieved its dream, and in 2016, their first driverless car was on the road. It was among the first cars in the world to take a trip on public roads without a driver. Waymo later aligned with Jaguar to produce self-drive electric cars. The project is currently underway, and we hope soon, gasless autonomous cars will be available in car dealer shops.

3. Pony.ai

Pony.ai is a relative newcomer in the autonomous car industry; thus, little about it is known in the western hemisphere. Though formed in 2016 by Baidu developers, the company has expanded its services from China to Irvine, California. During the onslaught of the Covid19 pandemic, the company partnered with Yamibuy to offer last-mile deliveries. Right now, Californians enjoy paid deliveries by a driverless car.

4. Volvo

Volvo is another car manufacturer with a good record of high-quality vehicles. The company has been a pioneer in safety technologies. This car manufacturer is credited for introducing lane-centering features in their car, one of the revolutionary properties autonomous cars are known to have.

Though the company had some difficulties in creating full driverless cars, it managed to come up with Pilot Assist II. Pilot Assist II works very well on a nice smooth road, but it has some difficulties when negotiating corners on curvy roads. All in all, the company has crafted a niche in the autonomous car industry, which its engineers are fiercely defending.

5. Voyage

Voyage has a novel function in the self-driving car industry. The company has elaborate plans for making autonomous cars for the elderly to help them move around busy streets safely. With this in mind, instead of the company installing turbochargers, it fitted their cars with very sensitive brakes and reduced their speed. All these qualities crown these cars a special title bearing a safety label.