Volvo will conduct China's largest test of self-driving cars
As many as 100 autonomous vehicles could roam public streets.
Volvo is about to embark on one of the greatest adventures in the history of self-driving cars... at leat, if everything goes according to plan. It's planning an experiment in China (reportedly the country's biggest to date) that will have as many as 100 autonomous vehicles driving on public streets in regular traffic conditions. Real-life tests aren't completely novel -- just ask Google. However, this would both offer a rare chance at a large-scale test and give Volvo a toehold in China's increasingly hot self-driving car space.
The problem? Right now, there's no firm course of action in place. Volvo says it'll spend the "coming months" negotiating with Chinese cities to see which ones will offer the clearances and infrastructure to make these robotic rides feasible. You may not see this experiment begin for a long time, and its results won't be ready for a while after that. Should everything come together, though, it could take humanity one step closer to hands-free private transportation.
