Nevada Approves Regulations for Driverless Cars

The State of Nevada has moved forward with legislation to begin drafting DMV regulations for "autonomous vehicles," like Google's upcoming Toyota Prius that can drive passengers and itself using artificial-intelligence software. Nevada is the first state to begin preliminary moves to provide roads and laws specifically for automobiles both with and without human drivers.

MSNBC:

"The bill goes into effect on March 1, 2012, and gives officials the go-ahead to work out car certification standards, insurance guidelines and other rules that would apply to robotic cars. The DMV also will mark out areas of the state where the cars can be tested.

According to the bill, these rules would apply to cars that use sensors, global positioning systems and artificial intelligence to drive "without the active intervention of a human operator.'"

Google says the artificial-intellegence software can sense anything near the car and mimic the decisions made by a human driver. The technology uses video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to see other traffic, as well as detailed maps to navigate the road ahead. Google better search for some ways to pick up development for their project as Volkswagen is right on their heels, test driving a “Temporary Auto Pilot” (TAP) system that will enable a car to drive itself on highway speeds up to 80 mph.

(H/T: Seattle PI)