Trailed by a bank of TV cameras, the Republican embarked on one of the first rides of a robotic vehicle that developers hope will soon ferry patrons from the mixed-use development complex at Assembly Yards in Doraville to a nearby MARTA station.

Officials call it the first autonomous shuttle service in metro Atlanta, but it's just one of several in the works since then-Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill in 2017 that would allow self-driving cars to operate on public roads.