This summer, a partially-autonomous shuttle is set to hit the rural roads of Iowa to better inform automakers of the unique challenges that come from desolate landscapes.
The shuttle’s deployment is the next phase for the University of Iowa’s Automated Driving Systems for Rural America project.

Omar Ahmad, deputy director of the University of Iowa’s National Advanced Driving Simulator, and head of the ADS project said, “We are here to provide an independent perspective on [automated vehicles] and what it takes for them to operate on rural roadways and aid populations that are underserved.”

If all goes according to plan, Ahmad said the project will eventually help those who are mobility-impaired by providing transportation solutions in rural areas lacking public transit systems.
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