Autonomous vehicles are no longer the far-off concepts of science fiction. New trials or developments in self-driving vehicles are announced on a regular basis, and the Google car, driving itself as it gathers data, is becoming a familiar sight along the streets of Mountain View, Calif., and Austin, Texas. Self-driving cars will inevitably become more prominent as computing technology matures; how long they take to fully replace human drivers is another matter. Many cars already feature some level of automation, such as parking assistance and adaptive cruise control. Moreover, numerous companies, including Tesla, Google, GM, Ford, Audi and Volvo, have automated vehicles in various stages of testing and development, or have acquired partnerships to increase research into automation. Toyota recently formed a new data company with Microsoft, focusing on vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.