Earlier this year, Nevada became the first US state to approve the use of self-driving cars on its highways. Now, it’s granted its first licence for the vehicles, and it goes to — what a surprise — Google.
Google’s new Nevada-based cars will be fitted with a red licence plate, which includes an infinity symbol for easy recognition. Even though this is a big step, we’re not quite at the stage where autonomous cars are roaming our streets unattended. Instead, each vehicle is required to have two passengers at all times, and the areas in which they can be driven are tightly regulated.
Still, it’s a big day for Google and Nevada — and the rapid progress with these kinds of projects means we can almost certainly expect to see autonomous cars for the public within a decade. [Ars Technica]
Image: Jurvetson/Flickr