By NewsGram Staff Writer

Machines are known to effectively reduce human labor. But the four-wheeler machine that are driven all around the world are set to become self-driven!

Toyota, Japanese automaker will be investing approximately USD 50 million over to the next five years to set up joint research centers at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for developing "intelligent" self-driving cars.

"This bold collaboration will address extremely complex mobility challenges using ground breaking artificial intelligence research. I'm thrilled to be a part of the synergies and talent sharing of Toyota, MIT, and Stanford," said Gill Pratt, former Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The two research centers will focus on using technology to make driving safer by inventing ways for cars to recognize their surroundings and make decisions that avert potential accidents.

"Our team will work to help intelligent vehicles recognize objects in the road, predict behaviours of things and people, and make safe and smart driving decisions under diverse conditions," said Fei-Fei Li, director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

Not far away from Stanford, both General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. have established offices in Palo Alto, California, in their mission to make smarter cars.

After smart phones and smart cities, smart cars are on their way!