Self-driving cars also have been sponsored by U.S. government's military research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA. The race pits teams of researchers from universities like Virginia Tech, Stanford and Cornell, against each other as they test their robotic vehicles on a long course.

Work on robotic cars has advanced to the point that one Stanford researcher said developing self-driving cars could help the U.S. auto industry take back its global leadership role, and maybe even .

Technology, specifically artificial intelligence, could revolutionize what automobiles are able to do, said Sebastian Thrun, a professor of computer science and director of the artificial intelligence laboratory at Stanford.

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at or subscribe to . Her e-mail address is .

in Computerworld's Emerging Technologies Topic Center.