Following Audi's autonomous adventures in Nevada and the Florida connected car expressway, the State of California granted a permit for testing Audi's automated cars on the state's roads, effective from today.
California only requires surety bond coverage of at least $5 million for each vehicle covered by a license, and the robot cars are good to go on public roads. Being effective immediately also means US testing can start earlier than the British or the Swedish government's similar programs.
California is also important for Audi US as the state is home to their Electronics Research Lab who previously developed the autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak car together with Stanford University.
Audi says with this major step forward, their Piloted driving could be ready for consumer introduction within five years.