Driverless car in first-ever road test
The first-ever road test of a driverless car in real traffic conditions is set to take place in Parma, Italy.
Italian researcher Alberto Broggi will today test his driverless car in real conditions on the roads of Parma, Italy. His vehicle prototype, named ‘BRAiVE’, will be fully autonomous to manage downtown traffic in rush hours as well as complex situations like tight roundabouts, traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. The vehicle is not remotely controlled but is equipped with low cost sensors integrated in the vehicle chassis, which can perceive the surrounding environment, with no human intervention.
Broggi received a €1.7m Advanced Grant from European Research Council in 2008. The grant for the ‘Open intelligent systems for future autonomous vehicles’ project has been used for developing equipment, manpower and experiments of the prototype car. It’s hoped the new technology will help improve road safety in the future.
The vehicle will drive from Parma University Campus and is set to arrive 30 minutes later at Piazzale della Pace in the city.
You can view a video on the car here.
