MOUNTAIN VIEW — The Audi SUV crept through city streets, obeying speed limits, stopping short at signals and keeping neatly between lane markers during morning rush hour. The driver’s hands hovered above the steering wheel.
The real driver was a system of sensors, processors and software made by auto supplier Delphi and tech company Mobileye. The SUV needed few corrections on its preprogrammed, 20-minute route through Mountain View on a recent sunny morning.
“This vehicle is very conservative,” said Gary O’Brien, a Delphi engineer in charge of global advanced engineering. “It drives like your grandmother.”
That’s by design.
Tech companies, automakers and suppliers agree on the potential benefits of self-driving cars, but they still diverge on how to make and deploy them. While many in Silicon Valley rush to get autonomous vehicles on the road, traditional automakers in Detroit and elsewhere are taking a more deliberate approach.
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