Outer Banks Wright Brothers memorial gets autonomous shuttle

KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC (AP) — The North Carolina site of the world’s first powered flight has launched a pilot project to test out the safety and efficacy of another transportation innovation.

The popular Wright Brothers National Memorial on the Outer Banks kicked off a three-month trial run Tuesday of a petite self-driving shuttle that will tote tourists around the park.

The N.C. Department of Transportation and National Park Service say it’s the first electric, self-driving transit shuttle to be tested at a recreational public lands site in the nation.

An employee able to manually stop the vehicle will be on board to monitor conditions.