A new initiative was announced Wednesday by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao in a keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas.

The ‘Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies: Automated Vehicles 4.0’ or AV 4.0, unifies efforts in automated vehicles, providing guidance to federal, state and local governments, and all stakeholders on the U.S. government’s approach towards AVs.

“CES is the showplace for vehicle tech innovation, and we’re thrilled Secretary Chao announced AV 4.0 on our keynote stage," said Gary Shapiro, president, and CEO of Consumer Technology Association (CTA) in a statement. "Self-driving technology is the future of mobility—-making our roads safer and improving mobility for seniors and the disabled. Our industry must continue to work with government to ensure the success and adoption of self-driving vehicles,” he said.

CES 2020 provides access to transformative technology, such as 5G, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart home, smart cities, vehicles, digital health and more. CES was named one of USA Today’s 10 Best Auto Shows and nine out of the ten top global auto suppliers are represented at the show.

“AV 4.0 will ensure American leadership in AV technology development and integration by providing unified guidance for the first time across the Federal government for innovators and stakeholders,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

On YouTube, the USDOT said with the release of Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety (ADS 2.0) in September 2017, the USDOT provided voluntary guidance to industry, as well as technical assistance and best practices to states, offering a path forward for the safe testing and integration of Automated Driving Systems.

In October 2018, Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0 (AV 3.0) introduced guiding principles for AV innovation for all surface transportation modes and described the USDOT’s strategy to address existing barriers to potential safety benefits and progress.

AV 4.0 builds on these efforts by presenting a unifying posture to inform collaborative efforts in automated vehicles and outlines past and current Federal Government efforts to ensure the United States leads the world in AV technology development and integration while prioritizing safety, security, and privacy and safeguarding the freedoms enjoyed by Americans, the statement said.