In testing a self piloted Audi A7 in Tampa, sensor problems caused the car to halt twice with Florida Gov. Rick Scott in the passenger seat.
For most of the trip on the freeway that can be shut off from real traffic, the Audi A7 worked well and took the heat using an array of sensors and cameras to navigate and pilot the freeway at 40mph while stopping and avoiding other cars.
The kind of test is level two in which the car will stay in the lane at the correct speed while the driver has his hands off the wheel. In fact, the “driver” sent a text message while driving.
In 2012, Governor Scott signed into law HB 1207, which allowed the testing of autonomous vehicles in the state.
Other states that allow self driving cars are Washington D.C, Nevada, California and Florida.
Audi started testing the A7 with self piloting in Nevada, last year.
The Audi A7 doesn’t have the ugly can look of the Google self-driving converted cars, the LIDAR senors are mounted on the grille. The acted as its own valet parker at CES when Audi used an app to “call” the car from a parking spot to the front of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas.