Autonomous, Self-Driving Tech to Be Tested at California's Concord Naval Weapons Station

The city of Concord, Calif., recently agreed to allow the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) to test emerging vehicle technology at the Concord Naval Weapons Station. The 2,100-acre stadium will be used by automakers, technology manufacturers and CCTA to test technologies like self-driving vehicles, interconnected vehicles and smart city infrastructure.

So far, Honda and Mercedes-Benz are two of the companies that will test on the site. The station is an attractive location for such testing, the San Jose Mercury News reported, because it contains an environment that closely simulates that which is found on roadways throughout the nation, like railroad crossings, parking lots, curved roadways, tunnels and streets with a grid structure. 

The Navy assigned control of the site to the city through a master use license that will permit up to five automakers and 15 other companies to use the property for testing. The project's duration will be determined by the city based on the progress of testing.