Robot Car's Desert Drive Scoops £1.1m Prize

A driverless car which steered itself for 132 miles to win a race across the Nevada desert has been named the best robot of all time by Wired magazine.

Stanley, a converted VW Touareg R5 which was made at California's Stanford University, finished ahead of other vehicles at the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency Grand Challenge. It averaged more than 19mph, scooping a prize of £1.1m.

Stanley's roof-mounted radar, laser range finders and video cameras let it find the best route and avoid obstacles. Stanford hopes that its research could help produce systems to warn drivers if they are swerving out of lane, and even allow commuters to sit back while their car drives them to work.