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Cooking up the perfect automated-driving system

Ask any group of chefs how to prepare a particular recipe and you'll find general agreement about the list of basic ingredients. However, between that list and the finished product are endless variations of process and proportions.

Consider the humble cup of coffee. In its most basic form, it consists of roasted-and-ground beans to which water is added to create a dark brown caffeinated liquid. Then come the various bean origins (Colombian, Hawaiian, Ethiopian, etc.) and the variety of preparation: drip, percolators, espresso, press pots, cold brew and the latest fad, pour overs. The mind-boggling array of fancy coffee drinks on your local café's menu board shows there is clearly no consensus for making a cup of joe.