When Otto first began testing its technology in California last year, a co-founder of the company sought to assure regulators it was developing driver-assistance systems on the state?s public roads and not self-driving semi trucks.
The distinction is critical. Otto, which hopes to develop fully self-driving trucks, would not be required to obtain an autonomous-testing permit from the state if it was only testing driver-assistance features. But it would be against regulations for the San Francisco?based company to test self-driving systems on public roads without a permit, something that Otto could never obtain for its semi trucks because the state forbids the testing of autonomous vehicles with a gross weight of more than 10,001 pounds. New documents shed light on how Otto, a subsidiary of Uber, has attempted to demarcate that fine line in its conversations with state regulators.
In May 2016, Otto co-founder Anthony Levandowski sent an email to California Department of Motor Vehicles officials that read: ?The tech we are utilizing in California requires a driver in the driver?s seat with his foot actively and physically pressing the accelerator pedal in order for the truck to operate. So long as the active physical control of the human driver is confirmed by the pedal mechanism, the technology we?re building prevents the truck from getting into collisions by slowing down . . . and providing steering corrections. Therefore, we see this technology as a collision-avoida...