Driverless cars may get acceleration in Nevada

William Atkins
Thursday, 12 May 2011 22:11

Science - Energy

If Google gets its way, the state of Nevada will allow self-driving cars, or autonomous automobiles, on its public roads, possibly by June 2011.

 

Last year, in 2010, Google announced it was testing self-driving (driverless) cars in its home state of California. See "Google has a Secret Fleet of Automated Toyota Priuses."

Such vehicles use an autopilot system that is able to drive from one point to another without the aid of a human.

Now, the company is lobbying state legislatures in Nevada to pass two bills that would allow for the registration and licensing of self-driving (autonomous) automobiles.

Google has been testing its self-driving cars in California, which is just west of Nevada. So far, Google has six automobiles that it is testing without a driver actively using the steering wheel, accelerator, and brake -- you get the picture (although a driver is sitting behind the wheel, just in case).

The autonomous cars operate with video cameras on the roof, along with a radar-and-laser range finding system, to detect traffic, buildings, and other obstacles.

The company states that, so far, their tests have been accident free (except for a small fender-bender when another car rear-ended its test vehicle) for about 140,000 miles (230,000 kilometers) of testing.

So, Google's self-driving cars may soon hit the road in Nevada if two bills are voted up in the state legislature.

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