I spotted this unusual vehicle in the ride-sharing / taxi driveway at the Luxor where we are staying. It’s a custom Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric car festooned with extra sensors. A label indicated it was an autonomous ride-hailing vehicle from Motional.

I looked up the company, and while they have several offices worldwide, they are doing trials in Las Vegas. They advertise they are autonomous, but zooming in, I noticed someone in the driver’s seat. Perhaps they were there to monitor and not to drive.

There have been many claims by different companies about autonomous vehicles, but the technology always seems to be just a couple of years away. Cruise Automation had a bunch of autonomous cars in downtown Austin, but that trial is on hold for now. I’ve seen a few of them; they look eerie driving around without a driver. Cruise used Chevy Bolts, which didn’t look as slick as this Ioniq 5. Even so, these cars look like science experiments.

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