The German government has confirmed that a digital highway, or track, is being constructed on the A9 Autobahn highway in Bavaria, Germany to allow testing of self-driving cars.
Plans for a digital highway were previously forbidden due to the signing of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic that states that every driver must be able to control his vehicle. However, last year this law was revised and drivers are now allowed to remove their hands from the wheel of automatic cars.
This track will be the first public track for testing automated vehicles and will include high technology features to allow cars to communicate with the track itself.
“The German car industry will be a world leader in digital cars. First there will be vehicles with driver assistance systems and then it can also be used with fully automated vehicles,” Alexander Dobrindt, transport minister, said.
Dobrindt also believes that “traditional car manufacturers can still dominate the future of automobiles without interference from technology giants.”
