The U.S. Has Pole Position in the Race to Deliver Autonomous Vehicles

For a country that loves cars and driving so much, the eagerness to automate transportation is conspicuous.

1 minute read

December 11, 2018, 7:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


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"Americans’ enthusiasm for cars is now rivaled by their eagerness to automate them. Europeans are plugging away on new pilot projects, but the US has raced ahead with more self-driving pilots than any other country," writes Michael J. Coren.

Specifically, the United States has 24 autonomous vehicle pilot programs underway, compared to 50 in the rest of the world, according to data from the Aspen Institute and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

According to Coren's source at Silicon Valley Mobility, however, that number can be expected to increase quickly in the next year, and pilots will soon give way to products and services.

For a visual representation of all these pilots, check out Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute's Global Atlas of Autonomous Vehicles in Cities, which was first released in October 2017.

Monday, December 10, 2018 in Quartz

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