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HOW SOON WILL THESE
SELF-DRIVING CARS BE ON THE
ROAD? MAYBE SOONER THAN YOU
THINK. I MET WITH STATE
TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS TO
GET A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT
EXACTLY NEEDS TO BE DONE TO
MAKE IT HAPPEN.
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WOULDN'T IT BE NICE TO SIT
BACK, RELAX AND LET YOUR CAR
DO THE DRIVING. MATT SMITH
WITH M-DOT'S INTELLIGENT
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS SAYS
IT'S NOT AS FAR OFF AS YOU MAY THINK.
THINK. (( 8:58 TO 9:10 MATT
SMITH / MDOT: WE'RE LEVERAGING
A LOT OF COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY WE ALREADY HAVE THE
SAME COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
THAT ALLOWS US TO GET THESE
CAMERA IMAGES BACK FROM THE
ROADWAY BACK TO THIS TRAFFIC
OPERATIONS CENTER.)) SMITH
SAYS A CHUNK OF WHAT'S NEEDED
FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING IS
ALREADY IN PLACE... IT'S JUST
A MATTER OF UPGRADING THE
CURRENT TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
INFRASTRUCTURE. (( 1:07 TO
1:21 MATT SMITH / MDOT: ROAD
AGENCIES SUCH AS MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
WE CAN TAKE OUR SIGNAL AND
TIMING INFORMATION AND
BROADCAST THEM INTO THE
VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE CAN
THEN USE THAT TO DETERMINE HOW
FAST A VEHICLE SHOULD GO,
WHETHER THEY NEED TO SLOW DOWN
FOR LIGHTS.))
LIGHTS.))
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THAT'S PART OF THE MOTIVATION
FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING.
ACCORDING THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY
TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
MORE THAN 35-THOUSAND PEOPLE
DIED ON U.S. ROADWAYS IN 2015.
THE FEDS SAY AUTOMATED DRIVING
COULD DRAMATICALLY DECREASE
THOSE NUMBERS... POINTING
OUT... 94 PERCENT OF CRASHES
CAN BE TIED TO HUMAN CHOICE OR
ERROR. BUT WHILE MICHIGAN
ALREADY HAS M-CITY IN ANN
ARBOR... WHERE AUTONOMOUS
VEHICLES ARE BEING TESTED...
THAT'S A 32 ACRE FACILITY...
WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET THE
WHOLE STATE UP AND RUNNING...
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((3:04 TO 3:28 MARLEE: IS
THIS REALISTIC? MATT SMITH /
MDOT: IT CERTAINLY IS
REALISTIC. MARLEE: IT'LL TAKE
A LOT OF MONEY, TRUE? MATT
SMITH / MDOT: FORTUNATELY A
LOT OF IT COMES FROM THE
PRIVATE SIDE... PROVIDE
SUPPORTING INFORMATION FOR
THEM TO USE.))
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