A group of Italian engineers from the University of Parma’s Vislab are testing sensory technology that allow unmanned vehicles to avoid obstacles on the longest-ever roadtrip of driverless technology.

” One month into the three-month journey, most errors have been human.    “We were trapped in customs for one long day. We had a small accident — well, two small accidents, caused by human error. As far as the technology is concerned, everything has been smooth. We are very happy,” project leader Alberto Broggi said Tuesday.”

The team hopes to log 13,000 driverless kilometers (8,000 miles) by the time the convoy arrives in Shanghai on Oct 28, for a final demonstration at the World Expo. So far,  they’ve  logged 2,300 autonomous kilometers (1,400 miles) out of the 4,100 kilometers (2,500 miles) traveled so far, with the balance balance in tow.

Read the full story at NPR – http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129397605