Competition drives down the cost of technology for driverless cars

Velodyne LiDAR sensor is seen on top of a vehicle at the Blackberry Ltd. QNX headquarters in Ottawa, Ontarion, Canada, on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. BlackBerry Ltd. and Canada are opening a research center for self-driving cars that raises the possibility of government backing for the former smartphone maker's automotive software unit. Photographer: Chris Roussakis/Bloomberg

SAN FRANCISCO: As the real-world deployment of driverless cars draws near, the race is on to make them even remotely affordable. The systems that currently drive robot cars cost upward of US$100,000 (RM408,325) per vehicle – not counting the cost of the car itself. 

Until that price comes down, there will be no mass market for driverless cars.