 To contend with an uncertain, interactive environment with many traffic participants, the robot vehicle has to perform long-term planning in order to drive effectively and approach human-level performance.
<clarity>  To contend with an uncertain, interactive environment with many traffic participants, the robot vehicle has to perform long-term planning in order to drive effectively and approach human-level performance.
 To contend with an uncertain, interactive environment with many traffic participants, the robot vehicle has to plan in both short and long terms in order to drive effectively and approach human-level performance.