Source: UC Berkeley, Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH), Institute of Transportation Studies

A fully developed automated highway system - 20 years away from large-scale implementation - depends on new technology that links vehicle to roadway. The system's components include radar and laser probes that maintain distance between cars; magnetometers to keep cars aligned on the road by tracing embedded road magnets; video cameras that track lane stripes and evaluate road conditions; and side-view radar for collision avoidance.