The Register is reporting plans to hold trials of driverless cars in Adelaide - not simply to test the cars themselves but also to determine what is required to support automated driving technologies in terms of infrastructure and manufacturing.
The scope of the trials seems limited: there'll be two days of tests on November 5th and 6th to coincide with a conference. How many cars and how far they'll go hasn't been discussed, but the cars will apparently drive around the airport, the Southern Expressway and Tonsley Innovation Park.
It's hoped the trials "will establish how driverless technology needs to be manufactured and introduced for uniquely Australian driving behaviour, our climate and road conditions, including what this means for Australia’s national road infrastructure, markings, surfaces and roadside signage,” according to the ARRB's group managing director Gerard Waldron.
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In February, Volvo had announced that in 2017 it would test 100 autonomous cars on certain roads in Gothenburg, Sweden.
At this week's Los Angeles Auto Show, Volvo showed its prototype of what the interior of an autonomous car might look like. It features a folding tray table built into the driver's door, a 25-inch video display in the glove compartment, and a tablet-like screen in the center console.
The Chinese-owned automaker demonstrated three different configurations of the interior: "Drive," in which a person drives the car; "Create," in which the occupants occupy themselves with reading or using a laptop computer; and "Relax," in which the driver's-side seat reclines and the occupants look at videos on the 25-inch screen.
Björn Annwall, a senior vice president at the company, said that its planned autonomous cars would be developed together with Microsoft, and that the two companies are "exploring a number of different collaborations."
[Additional Coverage After the Break]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday July 21 2015, @09:36PM
Opened on Monday, the University of Michigan's Mcity is the world's first controlled environment to test driverless cars, designed and developed by the university's "Mobility Transformation Center" (MTC) along with the Michigan Department of Transportation. [theregister.co.uk]
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(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday July 22 2015, @08:53AM
Interesting link, but if you were trying to point out that this is not the first test then I feel it misses the point. The test in Adelaide will be conducted on public roads as well as on a test track, whereas the Michigan article headline points out "Driverless cars banished to fake Michigan 'town' until they learn to read". Secondly, one of the aims of the Australian test is to ascertain what changes to road markings, signs, traffic controls etc would be beneficial - or even essential - to enable driverless cars to operate safely in mixed traffic.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday July 22 2015, @01:46PM
Nope, I was bringing in a related article when there were no comments.
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(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday July 22 2015, @03:00PM
(Score: 2) by Bartman12345 on Wednesday July 22 2015, @03:08AM
As a South Australian, I for one welcome our new self driving overlords.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Wednesday July 22 2015, @03:53AM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2015, @09:59AM
mono... DOH!
(Score: 3, Informative) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 22 2015, @03:47AM
anyone who has ever driven in Adelaide will know that a car being driven by a toaster would be an improvement over the way the locals drive.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by Bartman12345 on Wednesday July 22 2015, @04:27AM
Oi, if you don't like the way we drive, stay off the footpath.
(Score: 1) by sbgen on Wednesday July 22 2015, @04:28AM
Amen to that. With grid-like road system, it should be great for self driving cars. A beautiful, beutiful city.
Warning: Not a computer expert, but got to use it. Yes, my kind does exist.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2015, @12:35PM
This is kinda like saying "Let's catch up to the rest of the world on the new thing by going about it slower than them."
The funny thing is that Australia is the first place I would expect Autonomous Semi-trucks to be deployed. Thousands of miles of empty roadways connecting some of the most sparsely populated terrain on Earth, and at the same time some of the highest wages on the planet. Is that not enough incentive for them?