How close are we to fully self-driving cars?

The answer

Self-driving cars use a combination of LIDAR (laser scanning), radar, cameras, and AI to perceive their environment. The SAE defines six levels of autonomy (0–5), and as of now, most commercial systems operate at Level 2–3, requiring human oversight. Waymo's robotaxis operate in limited geofenced areas of several U.S. cities without safety drivers. The core challenge remains 'edge cases' - unusual situations like construction zones, aggressive cyclists, or debris that AI hasn't encountered in training data, where split-second human judgment still outperforms algorithms.