Toward Fully Autonomous and Networked Vehicles

The articles in this special section focus on fully autonomous and networked vehicles. Around 5,000 years ago, our ancestors invented the wheel, sparking generations of revolutionary innovations from the wheelbarrow to the automobile. Today, we are poised to revolutionize the wheel again. Autonomous and networked vehicles can observe their surroundings, assess their state, communicate with other vehicles, and maneuver the environment—without human intervention. Commensurate with their impact, the technologies underlying autonomous and networked vehicles are being adopted rapidly. In 2020, over 200 automobile models can autonomously manage their speed, steering or brakes.