Startup Outfits Cars Already On The Road With Self-Driving Systems

The car in your garage might have the potential to become self-driving with the help of a new company.

Cruise, a new startup, has developed a system that incorporates sensors, actuators and a small computer to take over some of the driving functions for certain commercially-available cars. It's not fully autonomous, like Google's self-driving car, but the system does automate the car's steering, acceleration and deceleration. The system will keep the car on the road and running, but it's up to the driver to obey traffic laws.

Cruise founder Kyle Vogt told TechCrunch autonomous cars are becoming possible as technology gets smaller and faster.

"The computation systems for self-driving cars were large and bulky when I worked on [autonomous vehicles] in 2004," Vogt told TechCruch. "We would have ten servers and a rack in the back of a pick-up truck. But that kind of power is now available in your cell phone."

Vogt also credited Google with preparing the public for the idea of self-driving cars.

This incredible suite of technologies comes with a caveat. At $10,000, the system is well beyond the reach of most car owners. It's also currently only compatible with Audi A4s and S4s.