The state of Nevada has issued the first self-driven vehicle licence in the US, meaning driverless cars could soon become a reality in the state. Shining the light in the driverless car revolution is a Toyota Prius, which has been modified by Google. It has been confirmed that he vehicle will first take to the road on the world famous strip in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, a number of other car manufacturers, including BMW, are striving for a licence that would allow them to create driverless cars.
In order to drive the Toyota Prius, engineers have attached a video camera to the roof of the vehicle. Radar sensors and a laser range finder to see oncoming traffic have also been attached to the landmark vehicle.
Google engineers have already taken the vehicle across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. However, the car was manned at all times during testing event, with a trained driver ready to take control in the event of the software failing.
Sebastian Thrun, a software engineer behind the project, explained that the innovative vehicle has already covered an impressive 140,000 miles with no serious accidents. And according to Bruce Breslow, Director of Nevada's Department of Motor Vehicles, driverless vehicles represent the "cars of the future".
The announcement comes shortly after the state of Nevada changed its laws to allow driverless driving, with the long-term ambition of making it commonplace in Las Vegas and elsewhere. In fact, a number of other states in the US, including California, are hopeful of introducing similar legislation.
"The vast majority of vehicle accidents are due to human error," said Alex Padilla, California state Senator. "Through the use of computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous vehicle is capable of analysing the driving environment more quickly and operating the vehicle more safely."
