The designations are meant to foster innovations that can safely transform personal and commercial mobility, expand capacity and open new doors to disadvantaged people and communities, DOT said.

“This group will openly share best practices for the safe conduct of testing and operations as they are developed, enabling the participants and the general public to learn at a faster rate and accelerating the pace of safe deployment,” Foxx said in a release.

The proving grounds will also provide critical insights into optimal big data usage through automated vehicle testing and will serve as a foundation for building a community of practice around automated vehicle research, according to DOT.