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U.K. Begins First Autonomous Car Tests on Public Roads

Today researchers in England began the country’s first cautious tests on public roads of vehicles equipped to drive themselves automatically.

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Today researchers in England began the country’s first cautious tests on public roads of vehicles equipped to drive themselves automatically.

The test vehicle, a variant of a Renault Twizzy electric two-seater, is traveling at 8 kph (5 mph) in an area of Milton Keynes where it turns, stops and encounters pedestrians.

The car was developed by Oxbotica, an Oxford University spinoff and equipped with software developed by the Oxford Robotics Institute. The program is being coordinated by the government-supported Transport Systems Catapult. Organizers aim to put 40 self-driving cars on the road in Milton Keynes in 2017.

The British government hopes to establish the U.K. as a global center for research, development and testing of autonomous vehicles.

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