Hands-free driving is around that bend

In 2014 when Google introduced a driverless car that had no steering wheel and no brakes, it signalled the beginning of a new era; the fully autonomous vehicle's time had come.  

The future in which no human driver is needed is outlined in the new book 'Driverless: Intelligent Cars And The Road Ahead' by Hod Lipson, a professor at Columbia University, and disruptive technology writer Melba Kurman.  

Recent advances in software and robotics, as well as a new kind of artificial intelligence, support the prediction that by 2050 most new cars will be fully autonomous.         

The book suggests that driverless cars will not only reshape our lives, but also our cities and industries. New opportunities will arise, but not without some risks and a few ethical issues that will have to be dealt with first.