Nebraska was a test site for one of the early driverless car experiments.
On Oct. 10, 1957, more than 80 dignitaries from numerous states watched a car being guided along U.S. 77 by buried wires.
The driver’s windshield was covered and the driver guided the car based on information relayed by a guide wire under the pavement that transmitted signals to equipment in the car.
When the driver got too close to the car ahead, a bell sounded and a light flashed on. When he dropped back the signals stopped. The driver held his course in his lane by observing the swinging needle on the meter.
It was the first demonstration in the United States of a real highway situation for a system promoters believed would allow cars to be guided by electronic signals, not by humans.
Leland Hancock, a state traffic engineer, spearheaded this effort in cooperation with the Radio Corporation of America.
This KOLN television news clip shows this national demonstration for what promoters felt would become an “electronic chauffer.”
The film is part of the sesquicentennial exhibit at the Nebraska History Museum in downtown Lincoln.
Post time: Sep-15-2017