Back in 2014, California became one of the first states to establish working regulations for driverless vehicles on public roads.
Since then, numerous companies have tested their autonomous prototypes on the state’s roads, including Google, and now there’s a new firm getting in on the action.
Nvidia has been added to the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ list of companies cleared to test self-driving cars on public roads.
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The firm already produces processing units that are used in autonomous driving systems, and has worked with several companies already on the list, including Tesla – supplying processing power for their driverless systems.
But Nvidia has it’s own driverless ambitions, and is building its own vehicles for testing its own systems.
The addition of the company to the list of approved entities means it can start testing vehicles, such as the one demonstrated in the following video, on real roads in California.
Nvidia is looking to create its own intelligent learning driverless system, and will no doubt be using the testing carried out in the Golden state to help bring it to life.
It’s likely the company will be developing the system to offer to other self-driving car manufacturers, as we can’t see the graphics card maker developing its own fleet of automous vehicles.
Recently, a plan from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles that would require manufacturers to complete a 15-point report on safety and other issues before testing self-driving vehicles faced criticism from the automotive industry.
Related: Who’s to blame when robot cars get it wrong?
While the new regulations have been attacked as a threat to innovation, with the Federal government set to weigh in on the matter, California has been one of the only states to encourage self-driving car innovation in recent years.
In September this year, Governor Jerry Brown signed off a new bill that permits autonomous car tests without the requirement for a human passenger to be behind the wheel.
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What do you make of the latest driverlss car developments? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
