Google’s Lexus RX 450H self-driving car is seen parked on Pennsylvania Ave. on April 23, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Google’s Lexus RX 450H self-driving car is seen parked on Pennsylvania Ave. on April 23, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

As part of an effort to master city streets, a Google self-driving car has been self-driving around D.C. for the past few days.

In a blog post Monday, Chris Urmson, director of Google’s Self-Driving Car Project, said the project has shifted toward city streets over the past year.

“A mile of city driving is much more complex than a mile of freeway driving, with hundreds of different objects moving according to different rules of the road in a small area,” Urmson wrote. “We’ve improved our software so it can detect hundreds of distinct objects simultaneously—pedestrians, buses, a stop sign held up by a crossing guard, or a cyclist making gestures that indicate a possible turn. A self-driving vehicle can pay attention to all of these things in a way that a human physically can’t—and it never gets tired or distracted.”

The D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles recently proposed a set of regulations for autonomous vehicles. Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), the chair of the transportation committee and a vocal supporter of the technology, introduced the legislation that led to the regulations.

Filed Under: autonomous vehicles, google, mary cheh, self-driving car,