NEWS

Wednesday, December 12th 2018, 6:34 PM EST by Claire Lavezzorio

The first, all-solar-powered community in the nation is working on another first: bringing self-driving cars to its streets.

Babcock Ranch already has self-driving buses run by the company Transdev, that came under fire by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.The first, all-solar-powered community in the nation is working on another first: bringing self-driving cars to its streets.

Babcock Ranch already has self-driving buses run by the company Transdev, that came under fire by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This week, SAE International is hosting test-drives of an autonomous Range Rover, developed by Perrone Robotics.

Engineers with Perrone said the Range Rover has hit speeds of 55 m.p.h in Tampa and the robotic engine can be used for many different applications.

“We expect to do a range of vehicles. From a small two-seater for people, for just two people who need a ride, to something that’s a six-seater, to airport-like shuttles,” said Dave Hofert with Perrone Robotics.

The self-driving car even flawlessly dodges a person or car blocking the roadway.

Babcock Ranch is currently working to design roads and other infrastructure like street light sensors to incorporate these self-driving vehicles into the town by 2020.

“We have a blank sheet of paper at Babcock Ranch,” said Syd Kitson, the town’s developer.

Click on link to watch clip from NBC – 2 news: https://www.nbc-2.com/clip/14712534/babcock-ranch-testing-self-driving-cars