Self-driving cars to become a common sight on London's streets in 2017

Swedish carmaker Volvo announced it would give self-driving cars to ordinary Britons to test on the streets of London in 2017

Swedish carmaker Volvo announced it would give self-driving cars to ordinary Britons to test on the streets of London in 2017.

This undated handout picture provided by Swedish carmaker Volvo shows a woman reading inside a so-called autonomous driving (AD) car. Pic/AFP

About Autonomous Driving (AD) cars
Also called driverless, self-driving and robotic, these vehicles are capable of sensing the environment and navigating without human input.

Google's robot car
In 2014, Google unveiled a 25 mph driverless vehicle — minus a steering wheel.

Google's self-driving car. Pic/AFP

Co-founder Sergey Brin unveiled the car — equipped with only a stop/go button and is capable of reaching up to speeds of 25 mph — at a conference in California.

But, the testing phase doesn't seem to be a smooth one. A self-driving car being tested by Google collided with a public bus on Valentine's Day this year.

The report was written by Google, which has been testing two dozen Lexus SUVs outfitted with sensors and cameras near the tech firm's Silicon Valley headquarters. Google wrote that its car was trying to get around some sandbags on a street when its left front struck the bus' right side. The car was going 2 mph (3 kph), the bus 15 mph. No one was injured. Google said its car's safety driver thought the bus would yield.

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