An exhibitor demonstrates a driverless car to visitors at the China Hi-Tech Fair at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, Nov 16, 2011.[Photo / Shenzhen Daily]

A driverless car on display at the 13th China Hi-Tech Fair has become one of the most popular subjects for visitors' cameras.

The purple SUV in Hall 8 of the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center has a perception radar on the roof, which can automatically scan barriers surrounding the vehicle. In addition, a video camera with a global positioning system can distinguish traffic lights and road lanes.

With these devices, the vehicle can automatically avoid pedestrians and other objects.

"The vehicle can also automatically find a parking spot and park itself. That is to say, people in the vehicle don't need to move a finger. Plus, the driverless vehicle can never become exhausted or drunk like real motorists," said Li Bixin of the transport research center at Wuhan University, which developed the driverless vehicle for a national project.

"The vehicle has been tested on expressways and has a maximum speed of between 90 and 100 kilometers per hour. It won second prize in the national intelligent vehicle competition last October," Li said.

There were seven domestic universities conducting research and development in automatic driving technology, Li said.

"The driverless vehicle, however, is still at the experimental stage and has not been tested in downtown areas with crowds of people. It needs further research and experiments," said Li.

It would take seven to eight years to develop the driverless vehicle to maturity.

(Source: szdaily.sznews.com/html/2011-11/17/content_1827220.htm)