Google's self-driving car test expands to Arizona

Google's self-driving car test expands to Arizona According to Reuters, Google's parent company Alphabet recently said it would expand self-driving car testing...

According to Reuters, Google's parent company Alphabet said it would expand self-driving car testing to the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area, making the city Google's fourth self-driving car test site. Google has been testing self-driving cars in Mountain View, California, Austin, Texas, and Kirkland, Washington for six years.

Major automakers and technology companies are rushing to develop and sell self-driving cars, but they all complain that road safety regulations have hindered the testing and deployment of such vehicles. Google's self-driving cars have driven 1.5 million miles (2.4 million kilometers), with most of the testing taking place in California. Since December, Google has publicly opposed the state's proposed regulations that would require self-driving cars to be tested on the road to be equipped with steering wheels, brake pads and drivers.

Jennifer Long, head of business operations for Google’s self-driving car project "Arizona is known for welcoming research and development, which drives innovation and enables companies to gain a foothold," said Haroon. "The Phoenix metropolitan area has a distinctive desert climate that helps us better understand how sensors and cars handle extreme temperatures and airborne dust." Google said test drivers recently began driving four Lexus RX450h SUVs around the Phoenix metropolitan area to create detailed maps of streets, road signs, traffic signals and height limit information.

A Google self-driving car hit a bus in Mountain View on February 14. Google said it would bear "partial responsibility" for the accident. This was the first time a Google self-driving car had an accident due to malfunction. The company said it would modify the software to avoid another incident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in January it was working on new self-driving vehicle guidelines for states and automakers hoping to launch products by July. The agency will hold its first public hearing on self-driving guidelines in Washington on Friday.

In February this year, the agency said that in accordance with federal law, the artificial intelligence system driving Google's car should be considered a driver, taking an important step towards approving self-driving cars to eventually hit the road. (Mu Xiulin)