Ford Fusion drives itself through Arizona night

Ford recently drove an autonomous Fusion through the Arizona night, relying entirely on the car's laser radar system to plot its course. Ford engineers working on the company's autonomous car technology recently succeeded in making a self-driving Ford Fusion lap its Arizona Proving Grounds in complete darkness, using laser radar, or Lidar, as its guide. While Lidar is a standard feature of most self-driving car gadgetry - along with traditional radar and cameras - the test was meant to specifically highlight how an autonomous vehicle might operate in a situation that many humans find nerve-wracking. Most self-driving cars are tested during daylight hours so all of their electronic systems can contribution to the process. As autonomous vehicles creep into our automotive future, the biggest hurdle for automakers won't be scientific but rather psychological.