Audi has been granted access to Nevada's public roads to test its autonomous vehicle technology. Audi is the first vehicle manufacturer ever to be given this grant, with the first permit given to Google some time ago.
The company plans to use Nevada's road network to further develop its 'piloted driving' and 'piloted parking' systems. The idea of piloted driving is to remove the majority of driver input during a journey, only calling for human intervention when situations demand it. Piloted parking aims to further develop the self-park system currently available from a number of manufacturers; although Audi's research should enable cars to park themselves in much tighter spaces than today's models can manage.
Audi claims to lead the way in the field of autonomous cars, and was recognised for its success in 2010. That was when an Audi TTS Pikes Peak research car was able to negotiate the 20-kilometre Pikes Peak Circuit, consisting of 156 corners, in an impressive 27 minutes. The car used was developed by collaboration between the Volkswagen Group Electronics Research Lab in Silicon Valley and Stanford University.
Recent developments and updates in Audi's autonomous vehicle research were showcased on Audi's stand at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. The exhibition is open now, and will run until the 11th January in Las Vegas, Nevada.