Florida Prepares for Autonomous Vehicles OTT video-streaming providers will now have the opportunity to partner with autonomous vehicle fleet owner and operators to develop bespoke in-autonomous vehicle video experiences based on the location of the vehicle. Governor Rick Scott of Florida openly embraced the future and signaled to the world that Florida is open to new innovative ideas when he signed HB 7027 (2016) on April 4, 2016.

HB 7027 will allow the testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads by any person holding a valid driver license, without the need to be designated by an autonomous vehicle manufacturer for testing purposes, and without any testing. The physical presence of an operator is no longer required.

This ground-breaking bill will allow automobile manufacturers and on-demand transportation companies to fully test autonomous vehicles at various levels of autonomy in a variety of circumstances.

By amending 316.303, F.S. to authorize active display of moving television broadcast or pre-recorded video entertainment content visible from the driver’s seat while the vehicle is in motion if the vehicle is equipped with autonomous technology and operated in autonomous mode HB 7027 will create new opportunities for OTT video-streaming providers.

OTT video-streaming providers will now have the opportunity to partner with autonomous vehicle fleet owner and operators to develop bespoke in-autonomous vehicle video experiences based on the location of the vehicle.

For example, tourists arriving at Orlando International Airport (39,583,000 passengers annually) could soon very well be shuttled to their hotels and resorts in autonomous vehicles that are streaming location based video about their vacation.

This streaming content could be highly personalized depending on which theme park the family was visiting, the resort where they are lodging, or the age of the children.

For guests visiting Walt Disney World, the autonomous vehicle experience could get highly personalized by using a MagicBand combined with the data Disney has on each and every one of their guests.

I could imagine a scenario where a parent unlocks the autonomous vehicle with their MagicBand, the kids hop in and the daughter is greeted with a personalized welcome message from Minnie Mouse while the son is greeted with a personalized welcome message from Mickey Mouse.

The parents would then sit back and relax while the kids interacted with Mickey and Minnie as the vehicle drives itself to Walt Disney World.

This is the future of autonomous transportation at hotels, resorts and destinations around the world.