According to automated technology company Delphi Automotive, its first automated drive across North America went well.

In the nine-day ride completed by a 2015 Audi SQ5, the self-driving car technology collected three terabytes of data. Source: DelphiKathy Winter, vice president of advanced engineering, software and services at Delphi, says the trip went smoother than expected and the car performed well in heat and rain, as well as in complex driving situations such as traffic circles, construction zones and tunnels.

“It performed well with the metal bridges," says Winter. “We were expecting a lot of radar reflection."

Engineers drove the car for about 50 miles (80 kilometers), in instances such as on- and off-ramps and construction zones where lanes were not marked, or only sporadically marked. Once, the team had to take control of the wheel to make an aggressive lane change to get around a police car on the shoulder.

In the nine-day ride completed by a 2015 Audi SQ5, the self-driving car technology collected three terabytes of data.

“The biggest thing we learned is the car itself is almost in a robot mode," Winter says. “Drivers are more emotional. This car will drive the speed limit."