Automated Audi Cruises Down Florida Highway (PCMagazine)

• BY ANGELA MOSCARITOLO
• JULY 28, 2014 

The car maker closed down a Florida highway on Sunday and Monday to test out a driverless car.

Move over, Florida highway drivers. Audi's self-driving car is coming through.

The car maker closed down a Tampa, Florida highway on Sunday and Monday to test out a driverless car in an effort to show that the technology will soon be ready for the real world. 

The company demonstrated its driverless technology in an Audi A7 equipped with an array of sensors and cameras to handle driving functions on freeway conditions up to 40 miles per hour. The technology allows the car to start and stop on its own and avoid other vehicles in front and to the sides.

The test did not, however, go off without a hitch. Twice the car stopped and had to be fixed because one of the sensors wasn't communicating with the central computer, according to the Tampa Bay Tribune. Despite the glitch, Audi believes this technology will be available to consumers within five years.

Audi is now the first carmaker to test a highly automated car on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway in Tampa, which was recently designated as an automated driving and connected car test bed, just one of 10 in the U.S. The move comes after Florida Gov. Rick Scott back in 2012 signed into law HB 1207, which allows the testing of autonomous vehicles in the state.

The test was also a first step towards fully automatic, driverless cars, which could be available within the next two decades, Filip Brabec, director of product management with Audi of America, told the Tampa Bay Tribune. Audi officials picked Tampa to see how the system works in extreme heat.

"The ability to conduct research in the real-world conditions offered by Florida and the Expressway Authority is crucial to pre-production development," Audi said in astatement. "Because Florida created an environment that allows for the testing and development of autonomous technology, companies such as Audi have decided to bring research and development efforts to the Sunshine State."

The test comes after Audi first showed off its self-driving A7 during a flashy pre-show keynote at CES in January.

Besides Audi, a number of other companies have autonomous vehicles in the works, including Nissan, Mercedes, Toyota, and Google. The FBI believes that autonomous cars could be approved by Congress for use in the U.S. within five to seven years, but worries they could be used as lethal weapons if they fall into the wrong hands.

For more, check out PCMag's test drive in Volvo's self-driving car. Also see Are You Ready to Give Your Keys to a Self-Driving Car?

Angela has been a PCMag reporter since January 2012. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a reporter for SC Magazine, covering everything related to hackers and computer security. Angela has also written for The Northern Valley Suburbanite in New Jersey, The Dominion Post in West Virginia, and the Uniontown-Herald Standard in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of West Virginia University's Perely Isaac Reed School of Journalism