Today The New York Times banged on one of my favorite drums — the need for test tracks for autonomous vehicles testing.
Some Michigan lawmakers are pushing for a centralized national test track for autonomous vehicles.
“We know we need a national testing and validation site,” Senator [Gary] Peters said at an automotive digital security conference here. “We need one in place where all the auto companies can come together.”
Despite my love for test tracks, I am not crazy about a centralized test track run or funded by the US government. But maybe we take what we can get.
The Times lists several of the leading contenders:
- GoMentum Station near Silicon Valley, in California
- MCity in Ann Arbor
- A site near Blacksburg, Virginia, run by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
- Willow Run, the new General Motors test site in Michigan
There is also Castle Rock (Google) and Pittsburgh (Uber), although those don’t merit a mention in the article.
David Silver 