A group of Italian engineers is embarking on a 13,000 kilometer (8,000 mile) road trip from Italy to Shanghai, China, retracing Marco Polo’s route. The vehicles are central to this adventure, though – two pairs of bright orange Piaggio Porter vans, (mostly) driverless and running on stored electricity and sunlight. With sensors and cameras nestled under their solar panel roof racks and control by a Vislab system, the two pairs of vehicles will be as autonomous as possible, even though a human will be in the driver’s seat to take over in an emergency and another technician will be on board to help with repairs. Another pair of guide vehicles will lead the way for each pair of autonomous vehicles, and several other support vehicles will follow along. The caravan won’t be much faster than Polo’s animal transport, traveling a maximum 50 to 60 kilometers per hour (32 to 37 miles per hour). The Piaggios can travel tw0 to three hours before needing an eight-hour …