Delphi Self-Driving Car Completes U.S. Coast-to-Coast Trip

Delphi Automotive plc's automated test car completed nearly 3,400 miles driving from San Francisco to New York City last week with no mishaps.

The car, a specially prepared Audi SQ5 midsize crossover, covered 99% of the distance in automated mode. The vehicle was equipped with six long-range radars, four short-range radars, three vision-based cameras, six laser-based radars and a GPS system.

The test engineers on board say they had to take control in only a few instances, reporting to the Associated Press the car got confused negotiating one construction zone and became unsure in certain conditions when semi-trailer trucks were nearby.

The all-highway trip took nine days and followed a southerly route through 15 states and the District of Columbia. Driving legs averaged about 370 miles per day, with one stint of 650 miles. Delphi collected nearly 3 terabytes of data about system performance.

Along the way the car encountered desert heat, traffic jams, bridges and tunnels, traffic circles, rain and even tumbleweed. Engineers note the car obeyed all local speed limits, thus incurring a few glares and rude gestures from aggressive drivers.