‘Look Ma No Hands’: Ford and GM Aim to Test Driverless Cars with No Steering Wheels on Public Roads

• Ford and General Motors have applied to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to test self-driving cars without steering wheels and brake pedals
• The carmakers currently have driverless cars testing under the Argo AI and Cruise names in Texas, Miami and San Franciso, with humans in the passenger seat
• However, these new applications want permission to put 2 500 cars each per year on the road that, in GM's case, are devoid of steering wheels, mirrors, indicators or windscreen wipers

Two United States car companies intend to release 2 500 cars per year that have no steering wheels and are driven by robots.

The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will decide whether to grant Ford and General Motors permission to test 2 500 driverless cars per year that don't have steering wheels, Reuters reports.

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The NHTSA is the country's car safety regulator and has published both petitions submitted by the companies for public participation. As a result, there is scope for the NHTSA to allow a limited number of cars without traditional controls to be tested on the country's roads, EuropeAutoNews.com reports.

General Motors' Cruise driverless cars will not feature steering wheels, mirrors, indicators or windscreen wipers.

This is how Ford's Argo AI driverless cars being tested operate at the moment in Austin, Texas and Miami:

Robots are the future: Ford utilises 3D printers autonomously for optimal efficiency and lower cost

Besides Ford's driverless cars, the company also invests in autonomous robots to help build its cars, Briefly News reports. Javier is the name of Ford's robot at its Advanced Manufacturing Centre and operates the 3D printers autonomously.

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This innovative robot on wheels from supplier KUKA is integral to the company's development of an industry-first process to operate 3D Carbon printers with an autonomous mobile robot.

Javier enables Ford to operate its 3D printers all night, even after employees leave for the day. Not only does this increased throughput, but it also reduces the cost of custom-printed products. For example, Ford has used the printer to make low-volume, custom parts, such as a brake line bracket for the Performance Package-equipped Mustang Shelby GT500.

Source: Briefly News