Atlanta’s roads are about to enter the future as driverless cars start hitting the streets. Georgia Tech, the City of Atlanta and City Hall joined to launch a test that will help open up the city to autonomous traffic. Self-driving cars will head down a “smart corridor” in Atlanta, guided by a network of Wi-Fi, GPS, sensors and other smart transmitters on September 14.
The test run will take place on Atlanta’s North Avenue down a mile-and-a-half stretch of carefully managed roadway. Of course, there will be a human in place to take over in case the technology doesn’t live up to expectations. Atlanta is testing the technology as part of the Safer Roads Challenge, and they are just the third city in the world to do so.
Related: Uber rolls out autonomous cars in Arizona
The technology isn’t the only obstacle holding back autonomous cars. Questions about who is liable in a crash, what happens if a guidance system is hacked and how to handle the transition period where there are still drivers trying to navigate streets full of autonomous vehicles. Still, it’s exciting to see the technology marching forward. It may be only a matter of time before self-driving cars become the norm rather than the exception.
Via Curbed and Atlanta Magazine
Images via Unsplash and Google
