A Canadian-designed robotic car that does all the driving itself will be put through its paces at an international contest.

Autonosys, a small company in Ottawa, designed the driverless car, which uses GPS technology to identify where the car is and laser radar to help it avoid obstacles.

"We've all seen this in science fiction, cars that drive themselves," said Jim O'Neill, CEO of Autonosys. "But I think cars like this are the first steps down the road to get us there."

The vehicle has already passed a crucial test by successfully navigating an obstacle course designed by the U.S. military.

Autonosys has also become the only non-American team to qualify for the semi-finals of the 180-kilometre race for driverless vehicles through the Mojave desert, sponsored by the U.S. military's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency. The race, which takes place in October, is known as the Grand Challenge.

The U.S. military aims to have a third of its fleet of vehicles using driverless technology in the next 10 years.

Aside from its military uses, there are also plans to expand its applications to other industrial vehicles, such as in construction and agriculture.

Before it could ever be used in consumer vehicles, though, engineers need to work on the computer's ability to make decisions more quickly.

"The simple decision you make when you drive home now, we have to get the computer to make them," said Kevin Williams, a mechanical engineer at the company.

Driverless cars and highways are already being designed, but the biggest obstacle might be getting people to accept them, said Ata Khan, an environmental engineering professor at Ottawa's Carleton University.