Darth Vader uttered once, "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've created." But when it comes to artificial technology (A.I.), we sometimes can't help but be mesmerized.

Like this one for starters: Stanford University Associate Professor Sebastian Thrun said that we will have robot-driven cars by the year 2030. The professor uttered the rather brave prediction during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science which was held this year in San Francisco.

Thrun's expertise includes Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and he, together with his colleagues, will be joining a competition on November 3 to prove his point. The said competition, which will be hosted by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), will serve as a testing ground for first wave of intelligent robot cars.

Today we can drive about 100 miles before human assistance is necessary. By 2030 you'll be able to see them on the highway, with a driving reliability that will exceed humans by orders of magnitude. We believe this technology will affect all of us. It is going to have enormous significance for people who can't drive because of disabilities or because they are ill or impaired.

The associate professor's pet project is named "Junior" which is a converted 2006 Volkswagen Passat. All steering, throttle, and brakes were modified to be fully computer-controllable. An on-board computer has been placed to determine its location and position using radar and GPS.