The first man-made object to reach space occurred on October 3rd, 1942 by German scientists during WWII. In the seventy years since, thousands of objects have reached orbit including designated phone and television satellites, weather monitors, and of course astronauts. Many objects served their purpose, but many others malfunctioned or became unresponsive and were left to forever circle the Earth.

Objects currently orbiting the Earth include abandoned satellites, used rockets, fragments of spacecraft, and random debris from past collisions. There are now over 500,000 pieces of space junk zipping around the Earth at over 17,500 miles per hour.

You’ve probably seen commercials for luxury vehicles that use motion sensors to correct operator error, either by moving sideways or by stopping short. Similarly, cars with adaptive cruise control will automatically adjust your speed, to maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you. Combine these 21st century developments with GPS technology, and you have the ingredients for a vehicle that can get you from point A to point B with nothing more than a little direction.

Are you ready for the self-driving car? Are we ready for the autonomous vehicle?