A tipping point for excitement in self-driving cars

But in the background, self-driving cars started to gain steam. Automakers, tech companies and startups are all racing to develop autonomous technology. Even governments -- generally behind the curve on technology -- are getting involved.

The money, brainpower and time poured into autonomy will likely spur huge changes in how we live. There's no consensus for when autonomous vehicles will go mainstream, but don't be surprised if they're the biggest story of the year before long.