Honda has thrown its hat into the ring of self-driving car development.
The Japan-based auto manufacturer received approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) this past week to test their self-driving cars on public streets, according to a Reuters report.
Honda joins several other California-approved auto companies, including Tesla, Nissan, BMW and Mercededs-Benz.
Reports are that Honda’s testing facility is located north of San Francisco in Concord, where the company tested their autonomous vehicles before gaining approval from the California DMV.
According to a Business Insider report, Honda will deploy “advanced driver-assistance systems” in some of its Honda and Acura.
Honda, which is deploying advanced driver-assistance systems across its Honda and Acura models, is one of many carmakers investing in self-driving technology.
A photo of what is presumably an Acura self-driving car was featured in an Engadget article about the DMV’s approval of Honda’s application for public-road testing.
The grey car is adorned with the motto, “Safety for Everyone”. The car itself looks like a normal car. The roof of the car, however, is home to a small, triangular metal structure topped with a camera.
An Engadget staffer rode along during a test drive of one of the Honda cars. The trip took “the same highways I drive on regular,” the staffer was quoted as saying.
The car was navigating its way down the same highways I drive on regularly, and dealing with real drivers just trying to go about their day.
The vehicle was able to handle highway merges “better than some people I know,” the reporter wrote.
Road-testing autonomous vehicles is legal in Michigan, Nevada and Florida. Google has recently made headlines for their self-driving cars, with reports coming out of Austin, Texas, that the company’s autonomous vehicles have been a fairly common sight on the roadways.
