The key technology toward the self-driving car

Purpose The successful and commercial use of self-driving/driverless/unmanned/automated car will make human life easier. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews the key technology of a self-driving car. In this paper, the four key technologies in self-driving car, namely, car navigation system, path planning, environment perception and car control, are addressed and surveyed. The main research institutions and groups in different countries are summarized. Finally, the debates of self-driving car are discussed and the development trend of self-driving car is predicted. Findings This paper analyzes the key technology of self-driving car and illuminates the state-of-art of the self-driving car. Originality/value The main research contents and key technology have been introduced. The research progress as well as the research institution has been summarized.