Developing cars that can drive without a human is a unique challenge. There are many kinds of events that fully autonomous vehicles have to be prepared to handle in milliseconds, and mistakes can have serious consequences. Solving these problems requires innovation across a number of fields, such as AI and machine learning, advanced sensors, simulation software that can mimic real-world driving, and computing frameworks to evaluate the system's performance. In 2007, I joined the Urban Challenge that was run by the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (Darpa) to test and develop autonomous vehicles (AVs). I vividly remember the first moment our car, Junior, drove by itself in the parking lot using software I was working on just hours before.

Researchers have developed the first soft robot that can walk on rough surfaces such as sand and pebbles. The four-legged, 3-D printed bot's X shape layout allow it to have different types of walks for different terrains. The researchers say it could be used to record sensor data in dangerous environments or for search and rescue missions. The researcher tested the performance of the bot (pictured) with different leg configurations, gait sequences over various terrains, and it was able to successfully navigate over large rocks, under inclined surfaces and over small pebbles, walking at speeds up to 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) per second The robot, designed by researchers at the University of California in San Diego, was possible thanks to a high-end 3-D printer that allowed the researchers to print soft and rigid materials together within the same components. The robot's soft legs naturally conform to its surroundings during operation, resulting in a robot with the ability to crawl through a variety of terrains with limited computation and no sensing capabilities.