US Clears the Way for This Self-Driving Vehicle With No Steering Wheel or Pedals

by Adam Felts

AgeLab Research Scientist Bryan Reimer provides remarks for a CNN story on the deployment of a unique kind of autonomous car:

The federal government has cleared the way for a Silicon Valley startup to deploy thousands of its self-driving delivery vehicles on US streets.

Nuro, based in Mountain View, California,is now able to launch up to 5,000 of its R2autonomousvehicles over the next two years, according to the US Department of Transportation.

The R2 has no steering wheel, pedals or side mirrors as it's designed to be unmanned and carry cargo. Large compartments on its side open up to reveal deliveries, such as groceries or pizza.

...

"One will need to look at the fine print of the reporting requirements to fully assess if NHTSA will be requiring robust enough information on adverse events to fully quantify the risks and benefits of the deployments," said Bryan Reimer, a research scientist in the MIT AgeLab and the associate director of the New England University Transportation Center at MIT. "I'm glad to see that this is only for low speed deployments as one needs to walk before anyone is allowed to run."

Read the full story here.

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About the Author

Photo of Adam Felts
Adam Felts

Adam Felts is a researcher and writer at the MIT AgeLab. Currently he is involved in research on the experiences of family caregivers and the future of financial advice. He also manages the AgeLab blog and newsletter. He received his Master's in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Boston University in 2014 and his Master's of Theological Studies from Boston University in 2019.

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