South Korea wants highways ready for self-driving cars by 2024

Every expressway across South Korea will be modified for self-driving vehicles over the next few years, the government said Tuesday, in an ambitious project intended to remove a major barrier facing the technology. South Korea initially plans to upgrade the country's 5,500 km of highways, then expand the infrastructure on local streets in major cities as well by 2024. The Asian country, which has taken the lead in rolling out fifth-generation wireless communications, is staking out a position at the front of the pack in driverless car infrastructure as well. For example, signaling devices installed at traffic lights will inform the autonomous vehicle directly when the light changes color, rather than the car having to rely on a camera to determine whether the light is red or green. Other signals will relay the width of lanes so that the vehicles can adjust accordingly.