Google is sending its self-driving cars to the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona, to test the autonomous vehicles against extremely arid conditions.
Phoenix is the fourth urban area where Google's cars will pass through trials. The first was Mountain View, California, the second was Austin, Texas, and Kirkland, Washington ranked third in the company's testing grounds. In opposition with Phoenix, Kirkland got on the testing ground list thanks to its significant wet weather.
Global carmakers are pooling their efforts to release driverless vehicles, but safety regulations usually impede them from testing the cars in real-life conditions.
A strong majority of Google's 1.5 million miles of autonomous driving took place in California, but the local regulations got tougher. In December 2015, the American state ruled that a steering wheel, brake pedals and a licensed driver should be present in every robot test vehicle that hits the open road.
"Arizona is known as a place where research and development is welcome," notes Jennifer Haroon, the leader of business operations for the Google Self-Driving Car project.
She adds that Phoenix's desert conditions will offer good feedback for the way in which the autonomous vehicle handles extreme temperatures and dusty atmospheric conditions.
Before launching the testing in Phoenix, Google deployed four Lexus RX450h SUVs that must craft a thorough map of streets, traffic signals, curb heights and lane markers.
The testing of self-driving vehicles, however, does not happen without incidents.
On February 14, an autonomous car from Google collided with a municipal bus in Mountain View, in what was revealed to be a minor crash. The company pointed out that it updated the software, promising that the modifications will avoid the repetition of such scenarios.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration affirms that it is working on a new set of policies addressing self-driving vehicles, and the rules will apply to authorities and manufacturers alike. The NHTSA says that it will draft the final version of the document by July.
Back in February, the NHTSA decided that the AI behind the Google's autonomous cars may be considered a valid "driver" for the vehicle.
The decision is a significant victory for Google, and it also provides an encouraging signal to the self-driving industry as a whole.
