(Reuters) – Ένα όχημα χωρίς οδηγό (Self-driving car) που θα μεταφέρει επιβάτες σε δημόσιους δρόμους θα κυκλοφορήσει για πρώτη φορά στους δρόμους της Βρετανίας, σήμερα Τρίτη, στο πλαίσιο των δοκιμών που αποσκοπούν να ανοίξουν το δρόμο στα αυτόνομα cars until the end of the decade.
Η κυβέρνηση ενθαρρύνει τις εταιρείες τεχνολογίας, αυτοκινητοβιομηχανίες και νεοσύστατες επιχειρήσεις να αναπτύξουν και να δοκιμάσουν αυτόνομες technologies driving in Britain, with the aim of creating an industry capable of serving the global market which you predict will be worth around 900 billion pounds ($1.100 trillion) by 2025.
Earlier this year, the UK government began a consultation on changes to insurance rules and more generally on automotive regulations that would allow self-driving cars to be used by 2020 and said it would allow these vehicles to be tested on motorways from the following year.
So for starters, a small two-seater car built by the University of Oxford will be tested in the southern English city of Milton Keynes, on Tuesday, with organizers hoping the tests will provide vital information on how the vehicle interacts with pedestrians and other drivers.
"Today's first public test of a driverless vehicle in our cities is a pioneering moment," said British Technology Minister Greg Clark.
"The global market for stand-alone vehicles presents tremendous opportunities for our automotive and technology business, research that supports technology and software that will require stand-alone vehicles," he said.
The self-driving car will be fully operational without human control, using camera and radar data to move into pedestrian areas.
