SCSU Sharing $7M Grant to Work on Autonomous Technologies

ST. CLOUD -- St. Cloud State University is sharing $7 million grant to help create the "National Center for Autonomous Technologies". The National Science Foundation awarded the grant to SCSU, Northland Community & Technical College in Thief River Falls, and four other organizations.

SCSU Professor Ben Richason says the schools will be on the forefront training students to work on a wide range of driverless vehicles.

When you talk about these companies be they bus companies, submersive vehicles, cars, farm equipment, and the like it's going to take a trained workforce to be able to keep these things up to date.

It is anticipated that within two years 60 percent of all new vehicles will have autonomous technology components.

The National Center for Autonomous Technologies will focus on air, land and sea vehicles.