First – did you know DCHQ now operates only through Facebook and Twitter?

https://www.facebook.com/driverlesscarhq

https://twitter.com/driverlesscarhq

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Yesterday I paid the domain renewal for Driverless Car HQ, which means it’s now one year since we first started discussing self-driving cars.

Paying the renewal caused me to reflect on the last year and the ridiculous progress made just in the last 12 months.

12 months ago…..

- Google was the only genuine declared player

- Testing hadn’t been approved in any jurisdiction

- Very few articles were ever published on the topic and it wasn’t even close to being mainstream knowledge. We seriously were scratching around trying to find even remotely related topics to talk about given that the news had very little for us.

- Only the bravest predicted that self driving vehicles would arrive by 2020.

Now…

- Nearly all major manufacturers have publicly announced some kind of project – GM, Lexus, Mercedes, Audi, the list goes on. Not only that, but Continental (the German tire-maker) was the second company to receive approval for testing in Nevada, and the Chinese government also appears to have some fairly advanced technology.

-Testing has been approved in Florida, California and Nevada, the latter having implemented self-driving vehicle number plates under a sanctioned testing system. The response from legislators and bureaucrats has been incredible, but also assisted by Google’s highly competent lobbying efforts. The enthusiasm shown by bureaucrats – most publicly the Nevada DMV (this video here is 100 minutes but is fascinating watching), whose leadership actively smoothed the path for successful passage through the local legislature.

- Articles abound on the net, with discussion taking place on blogs, fora and news websites around the globe. Where we used to link to anything remotely related to driverless cars, we now have to be quite selective in determining what is worth posting in our feeds and what is not.

- Many manufacturers – most notably GM, Nissan, Audi and Mercedes – have declared that we will see an autonomous vehicle by 2020. That’s only 7 years away – yikes!!. Sergey Brin goes one better – he  believes this technology will be commercialized within 5 years.

The momentum is unstoppable and the excitement is palpable, most especially after CES. There can now be no doubt that other manufacturers who have not yet shown their hand (Honda, Subaru and Mazda) are also working on the technology in some way.

Just read what Professor Thomas Weber of Mercedes had to say:

““It’s very important [to be first]. We are in a position [to be first].”

Wow.

Thanks for what has been an amazing last 12 months. Shouts go to Gabriel and Paul who have contributed so much since the start, to my fellow co-moderators and to Anthony who has been with me from the very first moment.

Mat.

Related posts:

1. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter
2. Google’s Driverless Car Program Logo
3. Nevada Approves Driverless Car Regulations
4. Florida Driverless Car Politics
5. Google Driverless Car Gets First License To Operate In Nevada