Nevada Dept. of Motor Vehicle Autonomous Program NEVADA AV/CV ACTIVITIES
Nevada DMV Test Program: Currently, Nevada has approved autonomous vehicle (AV) test licenses to the following companies: Google test anywhere in Nevada Delphi test anywhere in Nevada Hyundai/Kia test anywhere in Nevada Mercedes highway only Daimler Trucking 1 st commercial AV truck - highway only Volkswagen highway only Arrow Electronics (1 st Quadriplegic AV Test Driving) - anywhere in Nevada 2 more companies will be licensed within the next couple of weeks 3 other full AV companies are working with DMV to eventually obtain a test license
NV AV Consumer Deployment Program: The AV after-market company was created in our 2011/2012 regulations. Nevada DMV titled it as an Autonomous Technology Certification Facility (ATCF). In October, 2016, Otto became the 1 st company to obtain an ATCF licensee in our State. Otto has created AV technology that can be attached to an commercial truck rather than forcing a person to purchase a new vehicle. Otto has made a business decision to NOT sell their technology to the public at this time. They have chosen to continue their research & development efforts utilizing their own commercial trucks and trained staff.
NV AV Other Activities: In 2015, the DMV reached out to a company called Arrow Electronics who created a semi-autonomous type of vehicle for a quadriplegic person. Their driver, Sam Schmidt, is an ex-professional racecar driver who was paralyzed as a result of a racecar accident. The technology allows the driver to control the brakes and accelerator pedals through a sip-puff method that is similar to the one he uses to operate his electric wheel chair. By inserting cutting edge sensors on the eye glasses of Sam, he is able to fully control the steering mechanism. DMV worked with Arrow to establish additional test safety requirements and administrative standards in our regulations to ensure Arrow and our citizens would be safe as they test on our highways.
NV AV Other Activities Continued: The main safety features that were added to our regulations: The front passenger must have the ability to take complete control of the vehicle at any given time through additional instruments installed for the trained front passenger. Arrow would be required to have a pilot vehicle directly in front of the test vehicle at all times. If a vehicle came in between the pilot and test, the technician in the passenger seat would have to either take full control of the vehicle or Sam would have to pull the vehicle to the side until the pilot vehicle could regain their position. Our a result of this partnership with Arrow, in September 2016, the DMV also created the first AV restricted driver s license to be issued. Sam Schmidt became the first person to receive this license. The AV restricted driver s license is part of the regulatory enhancements we successfully adopted due to our partnership with Arrow, and is only for those test driver s who are handicapped, and employed by a company the DMV has approved to test on our highways. Arrow Electronics received their AV test license in September, 2016. Arrow has also made their technology free to the auto industry in the hopes that someday this will allow our handicapped community to experience freedom once again.
NV AV Other Activities Continued: Nevada Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (part of NCAM), successfully partnered with Audi to build and implement a vehicle-to-infrastructure program that counts down the seconds drivers will have to wait at a red light across Las Vegas valley. This feature is part of the subscription-based Audi Connect System, and is available as part of their prime package. The vehicles are equipped with a communication system that takes in real-time data collected at the traffic management system operated by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. The DMV, under the umbrella of NCAM, is working with our stakeholders on the following: Automated infrastructure improvements (Vehicle-to-Vehicle, Vehicle-to-Infrastructure, etc.) Fully Autonomous ride-sharing pilot programs with several companies (taxis, shuttle/bus, etc.) University programs for autonomous and intelligent design applications Platooning projects with trucking companies Legislative updates DMV expanding their authority to create testing and deployment regulations for platooning and vehicles that can take on more than one mode of transportation (flying and amphibious vehicles); creation of AV laws for Nevada Business & Industry who regulate taxis, shuttle and bus services 2017 2 nd Round of Regulatory enhancements
Nevada Contact Information: Jude Hurin, AV Administrator NV DMV jhurin@dmv.nv.gov April Sanborn, AV Manager NV DMV ASanborn@dmv.nv.gov Thomas Martin, AV Management Analyst NV DMV TMartin01@dmv.nv.gov Dan Langford, Nevada Center for Advanced Mobility dlangford@diversifynevada.com