Astounde covered a story in February about how Google, along with Audi, BMW and others are deep into testing of a car that not only parks itself, but drives itself. Advancements in GPS and motion sensing technology have made this dream a reality. News then came in late March that a man lacking 95% of his vision, “drove” a car for the first time in a long time. We now have a glimpse at what the official license plates of these vehicles will look like, and we can soon expect to see them cruising beside us on the interstate.

There are over 40 million blind people in the world. Individuals without sight are forced to hire orientation and mobility specialists to help them move around town. Some common techniques include devising consistent and familiar routes, using a walking cane, and obtaining a specially trained seeing eye dog. Similarly, phone apps have been designed that give the blind detailed directions to navigate around town. All of these alternatives are great, but the one common denominator is the slow rate of speed at which a visually impaired human beings must travel alone. Amazingly, though, a major breakthrough in this field is on the horizon.

We take for granted our ability to drive hundreds of miles in just a few hours time. We don’t think twice about being able to stand on two different continents in the same day. For thousands of years, we were limited to where we could walk. For hundreds of years, we were limited to where we could float. It’s only in the last 100 years, the blink of an eye, that the automobile and airplane have enabled us to span the globe. The evolution of travel will continue into the future, and we are nearing a new step in that process.

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?