Always a company that has taken great pride in its ability to rack up firsts, Google has become the first official holder of a license for a driver-free car in the United States. The license, issued in Nevada, has enabled the company to test out its self-driving technology on a customised Toyota Prius that utilises roof mounted cameras, radars and lasers in order to judge distances from other vehicles, obstacles and even pedestrians.
To date, the unmanned vehicles has managed an impressive 140,000 miles during testing without having any incidents to report (at least of its own doing, the car was involved in a tip from behind while stopped at a traffic light, according to the BBC).
Google is hoping the its self-drive technology will pave the way to fully automated cars becoming a staple in our lives in the future, and there are already plenty of other companies eager to get involved with the technology - so it's something we'll definitely be seeing a lot more of in the coming years.