{"318231":{"#nid":"318231","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Eyes Making Self-driving Cars Street Legal","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch6 class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EOriginally published in the \u003Cem\u003EAtlanta Business Chronicle\u003C\/em\u003E - August 22, 2014\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca class=\u0022ct\u0022 href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/atlanta\/bio\/8801\/Dave+Williams\u0022 rel=\u0022author\u0022\u003EDave Williams\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca class=\u0022ct\u0022 href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/atlanta\/bio\/8781\/Urvaksh+Karkaria\u0022 rel=\u0022author\u0022\u003EUrvaksh Karkaria\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003EGeorgia could become the fifth state to make self-driving cars street legal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003EBy opening up its roads and highways to autonomous vehicle testing, Georgia would tap jobs and investment from an ecosystem of tech firms and automakers developing self-driving technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003ELegislation that could come before the General Assembly this winter would provide opportunities for Atlanta companies that develop auto-related software and services. Fleets of self-driving cars \u2014 which wirelessly communicate with each other to manage traffic flow \u2014 could be the answer to Atlanta\u2019s notorious gridlock.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u201cOver time, this is the real game changer we\u2019re looking for,\u201d said state Rep. \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/atlanta\/search\/results?q=Ed%20Setzler\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEd Setzler\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, R-Acworth, a member of a House of Representatives study committee on autonomous vehicle technology that will begin meeting in a few weeks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003EThe committee will establish a legal structure for assessing fault in case of a crash involving a self-driving car, Setzler said. \u201cIf a car is on the street and a driver is not behind the wheel, a chain of responsibility needs to be in place so if something goes badly, things will be made right,\u201d he said. The committee will make recommendations to the General Assembly by year-end.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003ESome luxury cars already boast semi-autonomous features, including automatic parallel parking, lane-departure alerts and adaptive cruise control.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u201cThe self-driving car is the ultimate response to distracted driving,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/atlanta\/search\/results?q=Thilo%20Koslowski\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThilo Koslowski\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Cstrong\u003EGartner\u003C\/strong\u003E vice president. By 2016, at least three companies will announce launch dates for their first self-driving car models, he said. Carmakers are interested in reducing traffic accidents and keeping the automobile relevant. \u201cWhen we have an aging population and younger consumers that aren\u2019t interested in owning a vehicle, the auto industry needs to figure out different ways to attract customers,\u201d Koslowski said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003ETraffic congestion, auto accidents and new business opportunities are driving momentum for the development of autonomous vehicle technologies. A third of U.S. vehicle owners surveyed by \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/profiles\/company\/us\/ct\/stamford\/gartner_inc\/1177436\u0022\u003EGartner\u003C\/a\u003E in the first quarter said they are interested in having self-driving capabilities in their next vehicle.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003EGeorgia, a transportation hub and research center, is suited for development of self-driving technologies, said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/atlanta\/search\/results?q=Henrik%20Christensen\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHenrik Christensen\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, executive director of \u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u2019s Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u201cOur infrastructure is already extended beyond capacity and [autonomous driving technologies] offer a great opportunity to address that,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/profiles\/company\/us\/ga\/atlanta\/georgia_tech\/3331863\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/a\u003E is doing research on autonomous driving technology, smart sensors, car safety systems and increased driver awareness.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u201cLarge-scale experiments to explore interaction between regular cars and autonomous cars [are] interesting,\u201d Christensen said. \u201cAs an urban campus, Georgia Tech is ideally suited to explore this.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003EMichigan, California, Nevada and Florida have taken the lead \u2014 opening up to self-driving vehicle research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003ESelf-driving vehicles will be transformative for commuting, noted \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/atlanta\/search\/results?q=Stephen%20Fleming\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStephen Fleming\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a Georgia Tech vice president.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003EAutonomous vehicle development is being steered by the tech industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003EA lot of the processing is not going to happen in the car, but in the \u201ccloud\u201d and between vehicle systems.\u201cIt\u2019s not \u2018do we know how to build an engine and a transmission,\u2019\u201d Fleming said. \u201cIt\u2019s \u2018do we know how to build software networks that can negotiate with other networks in a secure and rapid manner\u2019 \u2014 and that Atlanta knows how to do.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Ch1\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Tech\u2019s Henrik Christensen and Stephen Fleming comment on proposed legislation."}],"uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2014-08-22 11:38:36","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:56","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"318241":{"id":"318241","type":"image","title":"IRIM\u2019s Executive Director Henrik I. Christensen with Sting Racer","body":null,"created":"1449244974","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:02:54","changed":"1475895027","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:27","alt":"IRIM\u2019s Executive Director Henrik I. Christensen with Sting Racer","file":{"fid":"199998","name":"13c5416-p1-076.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13c5416-p1-076_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/13c5416-p1-076_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2579042,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/13c5416-p1-076_0.jpg?itok=IPNJk2Lb"}}},"media_ids":["318241"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/atlanta\/print-edition\/2014\/08\/22\/georgia-eyes-making-self-driving-cars-street-legal.html","title":"Atlanta Business Chronicle"},{"url":"http:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for Robotics \u0026 Intelligent Machines"},{"url":"http:\/\/innovate.gatech.edu\/","title":"Enterprise Innovation Institute"}],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"97281","name":"autonomous vehicles"},{"id":"81491","name":"Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM)"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"169008","name":"self-driving cars"},{"id":"81791","name":"UAVs"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJosie Giles\u003Cbr \/\u003EIRIM Marketing Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:josie@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejosie@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}