Dr Dennis Hong: Making a car for blind drivers
In this TED Talk from 2011, Dr Dennis Hong is building a car for drivers who are blind using robotics, laser rangefinders, GPS and smart feedback tools, It's not a "self-driving" car, he's careful to note, but a car in which a non-sighted driver can determine speed, proximity and route -- and drive independently.
Note that just over a decade later how many of the ideas presented in this talk are now common safety features in cars.