Self Driving Cars

On Mind Set Daily recently I reported on flying cars well how about a "smart" car that drives itself?! Nevada is the first state to adopt driverless cars and the governor signed a law last year requiring the state to come up with regulations by which to authorize autonomous vehicles. They did, and now the first license to test autonomous vehicles in the state has been awarded to Google’s robotic car.

Google who takes the first licensed test run comes as no surprise, not only because their sensor-laden, robotic Toyota Prius has been the most visible robotic car over the past year and a half, but also because the licenses are largely a result of Google’s own lobby pushing for them. And some of the car’s 200,000 miles have been logged on freeways and neighborhood streets in Carson City, Nevada and – you guessed it – the Vegas Strip.

After reviewing Google’s system functions, safety plans, employee training, and accident reporting mechanisms the Nevada DMV’s Autonomous Review Committee gave Google its license. The license requires two humans to be in the car at all times, with one behind the wheel to take over in case something goes wrong.

So if you live in Nevada be on the lookout. Autonomous cars will have Nevada license plates with red backgrounds and an infinity symbol, to make them easy to spot by citizens and police officers. If all goes according to plan and the test vehicles perform as hoped, the vehicles will be made available to the public, green plates will replace the red, but the infinity symbol will remain.

The Nevada DMV said in a press release that Google may have been the first, but other auto manufacturers have also indicated their interest in filing license applications. So it seems that this is just the beginning, and if all goes well, public acceptance of robotic vehicles is sure to increase dramatically.

Isn't that what all this new technology counts on? Public acceptance? If the technology provides society a benefit and perhaps makes our lives easier than it is more likely to be accepted. Also from this story can you see where things may be headed? A more automated and "connected" society where robots and computers do everything for us including driving us around. These new self driving cars also could perhaps one day work very well with the "smart cities" that we reported on springing up around the globe recently. Regardless of where the technology and our society are headed in this case you don't need to worry, just sit back and enjoy the ride.