Mini robotic cars show how driverless cars improve traffic flow Verdict

A fleet of miniature autonomous cars has shown how driverless cars improve traffic flow by at least 35% when programmed to work together. Researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, tested how 16 miniature robotic cars driving around a two-lane track reacted when one of the cars on the inner lane stopped. When the cars were in cooperative mode, they alerted the rest of the cars to slow down as it neared the immobile car, allowing the inner lane cars to quickly pass it. However, when they were not driving cooperatively, traffic built up as cars had to stop and wait for a safe moment to overtake the stopped car. "Autonomous cars could fix a lot of different problems associated with driving in cities, but there needs to be a way for them to work together," said co-author of the study Michael He, an undergraduate student at St John's College who designed the lane-changing algorithms for the experiment.