Audi Secures First Driverless Car Permit In California

California’s new law governing autonomous driving went into effect on September 16, leaving the road open to pilotless cars. Audi is the first company to receive an autonomous driving permit issued by California. The maker has conducted research over tens of thousands of miles in Europe and various U.S. states, where such testing is permitted. The research is aimed at preparing a highly-automated piloted driving system for freeway traffic conditions. Audi envisions this technology could be ready for consumer introduction within five years.

While California isn’t the only state with these types of laws – Nevada, Florida, and Michigan also have already adopted similar regulations – its roads are important because the state is home to the brand’s Electronics Research Lab (ERL).

Engineers from the ERL are working on a wide range of automated driving issues, including human-machine interface prompts that indicate when a human or the vehicle is driving. They’ve been involved in the development of these systems for some time.

Audi, ERL, and Stanford University engineers collaborated on the development of the Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak car, which successfully completed the challenging 12.42-mile route of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race in Colorado in twenty-seven minutes without a human in the car.

California has allowed limited use of its roads for automated vehicle testing in recent years, but the laws approved by the state legislature today were established in 2012 by Governor Jerry Brown.

Regulations taking effect include: proof of insurance or surety bonds for manufacturers testing automated driving research cars and permits for company-designated operators of those vehicles.

In 2012, Audi was the first automotive OEM to receive one of the red autonomous vehicle license plates issued by the State of Nevada. In July, it was the first to demonstrate the capability of its automated driving technologies on a Tampa expressway newly designated as an autonomous and connected car test bed.

Back to NAFA Connection