Otto, a start-up led by former Google engineers, is betting that automating long-haul trucks rather than passenger vehicles could be more palatable financially and to regulators. Watch the video - you'd hope the computer driving it didn't suddenly blue screen!
The engineers think that automating trucks rather than passenger vehicles could be more palatable financially and to regulators. Nationally, trucks drive 5.6 percent of all vehicle miles and are responsible for 9.5 percent of highway fatalities, according to Department of Transportation data. Adding self-driving technology — at least as it stands now — into regular passenger cars could make them absurdly expensive for anyone without the cash of a Silicon Valley mogul. Until recently, the laser sensor used on the Google car project cost $75,000.