[nfb-talk] FW: Article from New York Times National Desk 2011 05 11

[Michael Bullis]

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From: NFB-NEWSLINE Online [mailto:nfbnewsline at nfb.org] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2011 7:42 AM
To: Mike Bullis
Subject: Article from New York Times National Desk 2011 05 11

Google Lobbies Nevada To Allow Driverless Cars. By JOHN MARKOFF. Google, a
pioneer of self-driving cars, is quietly lobbying for legislation that would
make Nevada the first state where they could be legally operated on public
roads. 

And yes, the proposed legislation would include an exemption from the ban on
distracted driving to allow occupants to send text messages while sitting
behind the wheel. 

The two bills, which have received little attention outside Nevada's
Capitol, are being introduced less than a year after the giant search engine
company acknowledged that it was developing cars that could be safely driven
without human intervention. 

Last year, in response to a reporter's query about its then-secret research
and development program, Google said it had test-driven robotic hybrid
vehicles more than 140,000 miles on California roads -- including Highway 1
between Los Angeles and San Francisco. 

More than 1,000 miles had been driven entirely autonomously at that point;
one of the company's engineers was testing some of the car's autonomous
features on his 50-mile commute from Berkeley to Google's headquarters in
Mountain View. 

At the time, Google gave little indication what its commercial intent might
be. The company confirmed on Tuesday that it has lobbied on behalf of the
legislation, though executives declined to say why they want the robotic
cars' maiden state to be Nevada. Jay Nancarrow, a company spokesman, said
the project was still very much in the testing phase. 

Google hired David Goldwater, a lobbyist based in Las Vegas, to promote the
two measures, which are expected to come to a vote before the Legislature's
session ends in June. One is an amendment to an electric-vehicle bill
providing for the licensing and testing of autonomous vehicles, and the
other is the exemption that would permit texting. 

In testimony before the State Assembly on April 7, Mr. Goldwater argued that
the autonomous technology would be safer than human drivers, offer more
fuel-efficient cars and promote economic development. 

Although safety systems based on artificial intelligence are rapidly making
their way into today's cars, completely autonomous systems raise thorny
questions about safety and liability. 

Policy makers and regulators have warned that the technology is now
advancing so quickly that it is in danger of outstripping existing law, some
of which dates back to the era of horse-drawn carriages. New laws will be
required, they argue, if autonomous vehicles are to become a reality. 

Policy analysts say Nevada is the first state to consider the commercial
deployment of a generation of vehicles that may park themselves, perform
automatic deliveries or even act as automated taxis on the Las Vegas casino
strip. 

In some respects this is a great template and a great model,' said Ryan
Calo, a legal scholar at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law
School. It recognizes a need to create a process to test these vehicles and
set aside an area of Nevada where testing can take place. 

Google's fleet of six autonomous Toyota Priuses and an Audi TT are easily
identifiable by a distinctive laser range finder mounted on the roof. The
cars also have a variety of radar and camera sensors and a trunkful of
computer equipment. 

In the testing program, each vehicle is overseen by a driver and a second
Google employee who monitors the equipment from the passenger seat. Because
of the human oversight, the company has avoided legal action against
reckless -- or, in this case, driverless -- driving. 

The project is being guided by the artificial-intelligence researcher
Sebastian Thrun, who as a Stanford professor in 2005 led a team of students
and engineers that designed the first winning entry in an autonomous vehicle
contest organized by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency. 

Since then, Dr. Thrun has focused more of his activities at Google, giving
up tenure at Stanford and hiring a growing array of experts to help with the
development project. 

In frequent public statements, he has said robotic vehicles would increase
energy efficiency while reducing road injuries and deaths. And he has called
for sophisticated systems for car sharing that, he says, could cut the
number of cars in the United States in half. 

What if I could take out my phone and say, 'Zipcar, come here,' ' he asked
an industry conference last year, 'and a moment later the Zipcar came around
the corner? 

Google's autonomous vehicle ambitions hint at an emerging vehicle-industrial
complex in Silicon Valley. Mercedes, Volkswagen and other carmakers have
laboratories in the region, I.B.M. has a battery development initiative, and
the Nummi plant in Fremont, once a joint venture of General Motors and
Toyota, has been reopened by Tesla. 

PHOTOS: Google has been quietly testing autonomous cars in California. The
cars, hybrids, have a laser range finder on the roof, as well as radar and
camera sensors and more equipment in the trunk. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAMIN
RAHIMIAN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)  . 

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