BMW designer feels robocars over a decade away and the never-
driving baby  In contrast to the optimism I usually present
here, and last week’s article about a self-driving Mercedes just
a year away it’s worth noting this interview with various BMW
folks where they provide a much more cautious timeline of at
least a decade. Part of their concern comes from the use of
computer vision systems. These are much cheaper than laser
scanners but do not provide the reliability needed; it’s no
accident that all the successful teams in the Darpa urban
challenge relied very heavily on laser scanning.  I’m enough of
an optimist that I am ready to bring forward the question “When
will a child be born that never drives because of robocars?” Of
course there are many people in the developed world who never
get a licence for a variety of reasons, particularly people who
live their lives in Manhattan and other transit-heavy cities.
But for most of us, getting a licence and getting on the road is
a rite of passage. Yet studies ar