Trailblazers of Autonomous Driving: The Pioneers Who Paved the Way
Discover the visionary engineers who kickstarted the autonomous vehicle revolution, from Spain's Torres Quevedo to the early self-driving experiments in America.
The dawn of the autonomous vehicle era didn't arrive overnight, but rather through the pioneering efforts of visionary engineers from decades past. While the popular imagination may associate self-driving cars with recent advancements, the roots of this technology can be traced back to the early 20th century and the work of one Spanish innovator, Leonardo Torres Quevedo.
Born in 1852 in Santa Cruz, Spain, Quevedo was a prolific inventor whose contributions laid the groundwork for the autonomous vehicles we see today. In 1914, he developed a mechanical chess machine that could play against human opponents without direct control, showcasing his early mastery of autonomous systems. But Quevedo's most significant breakthrough came over a decade earlier, with the invention of a remote-control system he called the Telekino.
Source: Ars Technica
