Google Wants To Drive Your Car

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Google’s latest innovation is attempting to take the driver out of the driver’s seat. After conquering the internet, and lately the world of smart phone operating systems with Android, Google is taking to the road.

Project leader Sebastian Thrun wrote on Google’s corporate blog, the goal of the research is to “help prevent traffic accidents, free up people’s time and reduce carbon emissions.”

The cars use video cameras and laser and radar technology to sense other traffic, construction or possible road blocks, and road signals. They also used detailed maps that were gathered and drawn up using manned cars.

As the car’s computer system can respond to variables and emergencies faster than a human driver, the possibility to significantly reduce traffic accidents is exciting. While the software needs to be monitored, and the cars themselves are never unmanned, it’s a huge leap forward in automotive technology. The possibility of eliminating the human element in driving a car, ...
... making the road experience safer overall could trump all other safety devices, like air bags, and even seat belts.

Google fitted several Toyota Prius’s and an Audi TT with their latest technology. And so far, the cars have driven a total of 140,000 miles on some of California’s major roads without a whole lot of human intervention. In fact, seven of the company’s prototypes have driven 1,000 miles each without a human touching the controls at all.

Thrun’s blog even said the cars have navigated some of California’s most curvy and cliff side roads.

Google’s application of robotics for the self driving car could present a huge leap forward for the industry, which stands where the personal computer industry was 35 years ago †on the verge of an explosion in versatility and demand.

There has been no word on how Google intends to profit from this research, or how, when and if this technology will be made available to consumers. While the technology could easily be marketed to the automotive industry, even optimists estimate its availability at least 8 years from now, and probably more.