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TECHNOLOGY Tuesday 21 February 2017
Atlanta, other cities eye test tracks for self-driving cars

JEFF MARTIN myriad security challeng-
Associated Press es,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim
ATLANTA (AP) — Self-driv- Reed acknowledged in
ing vehicles could begin a report last year on a re-
tooling down a bustling lated initiative to transform
Atlanta street full of cars, Atlanta into a “smart city.”
buses, bicyclists and col- Researchers at Georgia
lege students, as the city Tech, Reed said, will be
vies with other communi- key to that effort.
ties nationwide to test the Public acceptance of
emerging technology. the vehicles is among the
Atlanta would become main challenges to their
one of the largest urban widespread use on city
areas for testing self-driv- streets and highways, Bru-
ing vehicles if plans come baker said.
together for a demonstra- He and others see Atlanta
tion as early as September. as a logical base for the
Nationwide, 10 sites were emerging industry.
designated last month as Atlanta’s notorious traf-
“proving grounds” for au- fic congestion could lead
tomated vehicles by the residents to welcome such
U.S. Department of Trans- vehicles, Brubaker said.
portation. In this Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 photo, a sensor, bottom left, is seen on the front of a driverless “In any city that has that
They include North Caro- shuttle bus on display at the Riverside EpiCenter in Austell, Ga. level of congestion, peo-
lina turnpikes, the eastern Associated Press ple have a relatively open
Iowa prairie and a Michi- mind to embracing tech-
gan site where World War speed deployment of navigate in real-world traf- however. nology solutions that will
II bombing aircraft were the vehicles on the na- fic, though a driver will be “Imagine if these vehicles improve the traffic flow,”
produced in a factory tion’s roads. Republican inside and can take the were hacked. Imagine if Brubaker said.
built by automobile pio- John Thune of South Da- controls if needed, said the system that controls However, critics say the
neer Henry Ford. Atlanta kota and Democrat Gary Faye DiMassimo, an Atlan- them were hacked,” said cars are not yet able to
isn’t on the list, but city of- Peters of Michigan said ta official involved in the Jamie Court, president of safely navigate clogged
ficials nevertheless hope to they’re considering legis- North Avenue project. Consumer Watchdog. streets with traditional cars
make an impact. lation that “clears hurdles “We still think that autono- “I don’t think our society and pedestrians.
Backers of driverless cars and advances innovation mous vehicles are sort of is going to want a robot “The technology really is
say they could be part of in self-driving vehicle tech- ‘The Jetsons,’ right?” Di- glitch or a software hack not ready to be used on
a broader effort to rebuild nology.” Massimo said. “When you to be responsible for mass urban streets, unless they
the nation’s infrastructure, Atlanta has sought pro- looked at all the informa- deaths,” he said. “If we are going to be cleared of
something President Don- posals from companies for tion, you realize not only is sanction robots control- human drivers and dedi-
ald Trump has pledged a demonstration of an au- this here and now, this has ling these vehicles without cated strictly to autono-
to do. As roads and high- tonomous vehicle on North been in development for really knowing the risks, I mous vehicles,” Court said.
ways are rebuilt, “we think Avenue later this year, city quite some time.” think the technology will “The real problem is
it would be very, very wise documents show. North Avenue would first go under when the first these technologies tend to
to build modern infrastruc- The street, which con- be equipped with devic- major catastrophe befalls fail when they’re around
ture with 21st-century ca- nects the Georgia Institute es and sensors, enabling us.” Court’s group worked pedestrians, cyclists, hu-
pability in mind,” said Paul of Technology campus to vehicles to communicate with California transporta- man drivers,” Court said.
Brubaker, president and some of the South’s tall- with traffic signals and tion officials as they devel- The key obstacle, he said:
CEO of the Washington, est skyscrapers, would be warning self-driving cars oped rules for testing vehi- “human behavior is really
D.C.-based Alliance for among the busiest urban of red lights or treacherous cles developed by Google unpredictable.”
Transportation Innovation. environments yet for such conditions such as snow and other companies. At one North Avenue in-
Self-driving vehicles, he testing. or ice, the city documents Now, Court and others are tersection near Georgia
said, “should be a national In Atlanta, city officials say show. watching to see how often Tech’s football stadium,
priority.” a key goal is to create op- Cameras would provide human drivers must take “students tend to jay-
The Trump administration timal conditions on North live video of traffic, and over to prevent accidents walk, so it can get a little
hasn’t revealed its ap- Avenue for such vehicles computers would analyze as vehicles are tested in bit messy over there,”
proach to the technol- to operate. data on road conditions, California. said Georgia Tech stu-
ogy, but two U.S. senators The goal of September’s concerts or other events Tying together massive dent Maura Currie, 19. She
this month announced a demonstration is to show likely to clog streets. amounts of data from so called it “a hectic stretch
bipartisan effort to help how such a vehicle would Security is a key concern, many sources “will pose of road.”q