Self-Driving Cars Wheel in to CES 2018

As many major cities begin testing autonomous vehicles in controlled locations, there's at least one city where, for a short while, you can take a drive down the main strip with nothing but tech (and a safety driver) behind the wheel: Las Vegas.

As part of the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, ride-hailing company Lyft and Aptiv, a company that develops autonomous vehicle software, are offering attendees rides throughout Sin City in several self-driving cars. The driverless taxis can ferry passengers to more than 20 destinations throughout the city and, according to a press release by Aptiv, are able to tackle "complex everyday driving challenges, such as highway merges, maneuvering with pedestrians and cyclists, and staying on course while in a tunnel."

With Aptiv noting in its latest press release that it will be ready to scale up production of its self-driving software by 2019, the demonstration is just one way that cities are beginning to test the technology on city streets. Pittsburgh, for instance, partnered with Lyft's competitor Uber to develop and test autonomous vehicles in the city, while entire states, like Virginia, are making lanes for self-driving cars as far as partnerships and legislation.