Shared Use Advances as Driverless Mode

A California Assemblywoman has introduced a bill that would specifically permit the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to operate a pilot driverless shuttle at speeds of less than 35 MPH on public roads, with passengers, and - without a steering wheel.

The bill, AB 1592, is limited to this one situation and even designates where the shuttle may operate. I'm guessing that Assemblywoman Bonillla is constrained by the fear in her legislature and wants to make sure that the pilot, already arranged, will be allowed to get off the ground, or rather on the road.

Go transit! Woo hoo!

Off in a quiet neighborhood of Pittsburgh, meanwhile 

Uber will be testing driverless vehicles in a Pittsburgh neighborhood - off the roads in a private now-unused site that is slated for future development, post-Uber use. The city believes that the Uber name will help home values for the post-Uber testing development. If this works out, no one will have to deal with pesky or murderous Uber drivers. 

Off in Texas and Colorado - off road all the way to Afghanistan

And a place called the Southwest Research Institute - or SwRI - in San Antonio and at a campus in Boulder is working on several driverless projects, some involving the military and some for navigation on unpaved roads, which the Institute says amount to 36 percent of US roads. There's also a lot of unpaved roads in Afghanistan and elsewhere in locations where soldiers are very much at risk of attack.

They work on interesting projects for materials scientists. Stuff like vehicles that won't melt on other planets. I have a budding one in the family, so I'm always interested in fun projects such specialized smart people work on.

Off in India, just some guys saving the world from sleepy drivers

In India, one small team has created a driverless-in-a-box kit to turn any car into a self-driving one. Great story of the impetus and the development of the prototype car and the kit.