Russian technology giant Yandex is to offer rides in its self-driving cars in Las Vegas, Nevada, during CES, marking the first time it will trial its technology outside of its home country.
In November 2018, Yandex announced it had received a license to operate its self-driving car in the state of Nevada and when the Consumer Electronics Show takes place from January 7-11, the company will offer rides to the public to demonstrate its latest achievements in a new environment.
Yandex’s self-driving cars are tested in all four seasons and have been able to operate in harsh winter conditions when, earlier this year, Yandex announced its autonomous ridehailing service to passengers in the tech hub Innopolis, Russia.
In just a few months, the autonomous ridehailing service expanded to a second tech city- the Skolkovo District in Moscow. Between the two locations, the service has provided over 1,800 successful rides with a safety engineer in the passenger seat.
“The autonomous vehicle license in Nevada creates another opportunity to continue to advance our self-driving capabilities in new environments. In February 2018, the car began navigating the snowy streets of Moscow, and in late August we launched Europe’s first autonomous ridehailing service,” the company said in a statement.