New cars are quickly getting self-driving safety features

Companies rolling out laser sensors, artificial intelligence

In this 2017 file photo, Luminar CEO Austin Russell gestures while looking at a 3D lidar map on a demonstration drive in San Francisco. Smaller versions of those spinning 360-degree mechanical laser sensors that sit atop self-driving cars are coming to mainstream vehicles. The lasers, called Lidar for Light Detection and Ranging, can see far-off objects in the dark, in bad weather, and in great detail. - photo by Associated Press

W cars — In this 2017 file photo, Luminar CEO Austin Russell gestures while looking at a 3D lidar map on a demonstration drive in San Francisco. Smaller versions of those spinning 360-degree mechanical laser sensors that sit atop self-driving cars are coming to mainstream vehicles. The lasers, called Lidar for Light Detection and Ranging, can see far-off objects in the dark, in bad weather, and in great detail. - photo by Associated Press

DETROIT — Autonomous vehicles get all the headlines, but automakers are gradually adding advanced electronic safety features to human-driven cars as they step toward a world of self-driving vehicles. Car and tech companies are rolling out laser sensors, artificial intelligence, larger viewing screens that show more of the road, cameras that can read speed limit signs, and systems that slow cars ahead of curves and construction zones. Many of the new features repurpose cameras and radar that already are in cars for automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection and other safety devices.

Associated Press

Associated Press