As more and more cars are equipped with technologies that allow for driverless parking and stay-in-lane capabilities, researchers at Cornell University wanted to see how much consumers would pay for the next step in automotive technology: self-driving cars.

"Automation of personal transportation is becoming a reality at a faster pace than anticipated," commented Dr. Ricardo Daziano, lead author of the study from Cornell University. "To plan for and analyze the large impacts of automation, policymakers and car manufacturers need to understand the market. Our study is an initial attempt to quantify how households currently perceive and economically value automated vehicle technologies."

Using hypothetical scenarios to determine how much a person would pay, researchers asked 1,260 participants across the U.S. about vehicles equipped with certain features, such as automated navigation systems, and prices. Based on those hypothetical scenarios, the participants were asked to select one of the vehicles in a series of ‘choice experiments.’

Researchers found that average consumers would pay $4,900 more for a self-driving car and $3,500 more for a car equipped with crash avoidance technology.

To read more on the study, click here.