From Audi to Volvo, most ‘self-driving’ cars use the same hardware

My actual drive from Washington, DC, to Columbus, Ohio, and back took about 12 hours in total, but thanks to the magic that is time-lapse, you can come with me in a mere 90 seconds. Video edited by Jennifer Hahn. (video link)

On Sunday, my colleague Lee Hutchinson regaled you all with a tale of his semi-autonomous driving adventure in one of Tesla's high-speed electric chariots. But that's not the only semi-autonomous (Level 2 self-driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) road trip we've conducted here at Ars. You can read all about how we got on with Volvo's latest and greatest XC90 SUVs in a week or so. Plus, there's the new Audi A4, which in Dynamic mode really puts the mantra of "trust the machine" to the test as it late-brakes for exits at up to 0.5G. And finally, I was also fortunate enough to have put many miles on an Audi A7 TDI, driving from DC to Columbus, Ohio, and back when I went to visit the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 3.

Much of the technology that underpins these systems is shared among the industry. A handful of companies like Bosch, Delphi, and Mobileye provide sensors, control units, and even algorithms to car makers, who then integrate and refine those systems.

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