A prototype robot car that can navigate in built up environments and moving traffic has been unveiled by scientists hoping to win a $2m (£1.02m) competition sponsored by the US military. They predict that self-driving cars similar to the fictional Kitt from the 80s TV series Knightrider will be on the roads by 2030 - and could be deployed in combat by 2015.

The Stanford Racing team won an earlier contest in 2005 set by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency in which competitors had to design and build a self-driving car that could navigate through a 132-mile desert course. Darpa's urban challenge on November 3 would be a much harder test, said Stanford University's team leader, Sebastian Thrum.

Having other robot drivers around would present more problems, said the team's Mike Motemerlo. "Predicting what they are going to do in the future is a hard problem that is important to driving. Is it my turn at the intersection? Do I have time to get across the intersection before somebody hits me?" Junior, successor to the team's previous model Stanley, is based on a Volkswagen Passat. It has a range-finding laser mounted on the roof to provide a 360-degree, 3D view of its surroundings, video cameras which can see around the car, bumper-mounted lasers, radar and GPS receivers.