Researchers at three North Carolina universities are getting a financial boost to study driverless cars.
The program is called University Transportation Centers of Excellence. It will be based out of N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, and North Carolina A&T.
A&T will have a test track at Gateway Research Park in Greensboro. The school will work with the city to build a road between the campus and downtown that can only be used by autonomous vehicles.
The state Department of Transportation is giving $1 million to each of the teams for the three-year study. The goal is to develop ways to prepare for autonomous vehicles and emerging transportation technologies. The primary focus will be on the launch of electric and self-driving cars and trucks.
Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon says that disruptive technologies will reshape the transportation industry, and this research will help generate the data needed to get ready for the changes.