Once the stuff of science fiction, self-driving cars may soon be cruising our nation’s roadways. Federal and state authorities are rushing to keep up with this rapidly advancing technology. The U.S. Department of Transportation just issued its first guidelines for highly automated vehicles or HAVs and fully driverless vehicles could be operating on California roads by the end of the year. Several bills calling for the extensive testing and regulation of autonomous vehicles are on Connecticut’s legislative docket this year. The University of Connecticut is helping state and regional officials address this issue as one of the sponsors of the first Northeast Autonomous Vehicles Summit taking place March 30-31 in Mystic, Conn. UConn Today discussed the brave new world of robotic cars with associate research professor Eric Jackson, director of the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center at UConn.