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Oct 9, 2010

Google Is Road Testing Cars That Drive Themselves

This is not a Google Street View truck. It's actually a self-driving car. The car is part of a new research initiative that Google's been road resting: Artificially intelligent cars that drive themselves.

Self-driving cars are admittedly a lofty, almost far-fetched prospect. Even the most optimistic people behind the Google team say it's at least eight years away from reaching consumers. But the promise it holds! With self driving cars on the road, researchers say road capacity can double since robots will drive at closer distances from one another. Plus, robot cars can theoretically react faster than humans and with the right sensors, can see the road from a 360-degree perspective. Not to mention they never get drunk, sleepy or text while driving either.

Google's been working on these self driving cars in secret but are actually testing them right now, right out in the open. The NY Times saw one of these cars in action:

A Prius equipped with a variety of sensors and following a route programmed into the GPS navigation system nimbly accelerated in the entrance lane and merged into fast-moving traffic on Highway 101, the freeway through Silicon Valley.

It drove at the speed limit, which it knew because the limit for every road is included in its database, and left the freeway several exits later. The device atop the car produced a detailed map of the environment.

The car then drove in city traffic through Mountain View, stopping for lights and stop signs, as well as making announcements like "approaching a crosswalk" (to warn the human at the wheel) or "turn ahead" in a pleasant female voice.

Ideally, there's a driver sitting at the steering wheel, ready to take over whenever anything goes awry. Once you hit a red button, move the steering wheel or tap the brake, the car is back under your control. I was never a big fan of driving so I'm hoping these self-driving cars become reality in my lifetime.

48 comments:

S4INTY said...

I wouldn't want be near one of those - how would they deal with crashes?!

OneFourSeven said...

God, I love Google. Lol. This is awesome.

anon1337 said...

Yeah, i wonder how they deal with unexpected events. Like, random animal running onto road. Might be good in 100 years.

Nie Mand said...

No thanks, I don't want Google to know where I am.

Drackar said...

One day they are going to hit a J-walker and everything will be over.

BloggerBear11 said...

I can't wait until cars drive themselves!!

IndustrialHaze said...

would you need a drivers license for that?

yuyiuyi said...

I want one!

kabello said...

googe inovating again

Donkote said...

this would be pretty amazing if it gets completed. i'd definitely want one

Anonymous said...

wow that's crazy! lol google is the new innovators of our generation!

http://starwars-stuff.blogspot.com said...

crazy... when do we get our flying cars, though?

AquaFox said...

Ha nice...

Anonymous said...

i enjoy driving. i'm not that lazy! =)

What are you doing here. said...

Google never fails to amaze..

Pope Smurf said...

What?? Well, Google is gonna conquer the world...

Dake said...

Where is my flying car! :( But honestly I don't think I could trust a car to drive itself

mandellameats said...

sweet. i used to live in mountain view.

Anonymous said...

this is awesome

Sebastian said...

Can't wait to get myself a self-driving car. It's only a matter of time (and money).

starMaster! said...

That is definitely cool. Soon we can just sleep in the car while driving! Wait... I already do that...

Discerning Gentleman said...

Google is taking over the world!

Toliver Edge said...

Whoa, that's nuts. It's so cool that we live in the generation that gets to see all this ridiculous stuff.

Tip Junkies said...

wow thats creepy

Jimmy Volmer said...

this post made me open my eyes and stop squinting!

Victor M. said...

Would be amazing to have a self driving car! God bless google.

http://quarterqwerty.blogspot.com/

-ITW- said...

as insurance companies go out of business... lol

will said...

So crazy. Google always has something interesting up its sleeves.

ryan said...

I can't wait for my car to drive itself!

David Davidson said...

I'm buying one of these the instant they're on the market.

Abigale Consulting said...

Neat.thanks for the post.

Cacti said...

That's pretty awesome. Google does some great shit.

Rubix said...

google scares the crap out of me

Lil Pee said...

Wonder why they're testing cars...

mast3rcloak said...

haha i still want to know when google street is coming past my house.

SPMario said...

Freaking intense! Hope they work!

BradsSportsBlog said...

awesome

anontcotrol said...

hope this works and doesnt do a google wave lol!

Emanuel said...

This is awesome, keep it up Bro !

Bob lehcror said...

Wow that's google for ya

Frank Adams said...

haha, nice!

Telia Tuli said...

welp
yep
2012 is it then.

Horst Jochen Dieter said...

oh google, you did it again :)

Oh oh! Banana! said...

Hmm. Even if they do make the occasional errors from animals crossing the road or whatever, they would probably still be less prone to accident than human drivers, right?

likethat? said...

thats unbelievable, but what if people tried to hack these or if they had some software malfunction, how disasterous could that be

Unknown said...

They just want you to surf the net and use Google during your 2 hour morning commute.

Biff Tanner said...

This is good and bad if your a weekend warrior

Paladin-Bias said...

this is something that just makes sense. driving is dangerous, automating it is the clear solution.