Google self-drive gets its first licence
May 15th, 2012
GOOGLE’S SELF-DRIVEN cars will soon be appearing on Nevada roads after that state’s Department of Motor Vehicles approved the first autonomous vehicle license in the US. The move came after officials rode along on drives on highways, in Carson City neighborhoods and along the famous Las Vegas Strip.
The Nevada legislature last year authorised self-driven cars for the state’s roads, the first such law in the United States.
Google’s self-driven cars – modified Toyota Priuses – rely on video cameras, radar sensors, lasers and a database of information collected from manually-driven cars to help it navigate.
The state also has plans to eventually license autonomous vehicles owned by members of the public.
Legislation to regulate autonomous cars is being considered in other states, including Google’s home state of California.
“The vast majority of vehicle accidents are due to human error. Through the use of computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous vehicle is capable of analysing the driving environment more quickly and operating the vehicle more safely,” California state Senator Alex Padilla said in March, when he introduced that state’s autonomous car legislation.
Source: The Irish Times, May 9th 2012
