Imagine taking your hands off the steering wheel, kicking back, and letting your car drive itself. It may sounds like the futuristic life of the Jetsons, but if you live in Nevada, this could be your reality. According to a report by the New York Times, Google has introduced two bills into Nevada’s State Legislature to allow self-driving cars on the road. The first bill allows for licensing and testing of autonomous vehicles; the second will permit texting in these vehicles.
Google, a pioneer of self-driving cars, is moving fast with its newest invention. Its quiet lobbying starts less than a year after the search engine giant first admitted these vehicles existed in 2010. Now, a vote is expected before the Nevada Legislature’s session ends in June.
Led by artificial-intelligence researcher and former Stanford professor Sebastian Thrun, Google’s newest technology boasts several advantages. Beyond being a safer option than human drivers, self-driving cars also open more opportunities for fuel-efficient cars and thus promote economic development for the auto industry. Plus, they’re really cool. “What if I could take out my phone and say, ‘Zipcar, come here,’ ” Thrun asked an industry conference last year, “and a moment later the Zipcar came around the corner?” Read more from the New York Times.
