Driverless cars aren’t really a new thing for Google. In
fact the company has been using them for years now in its data collection
efforts to map the world’s road network. For the most part, the search giant
has used existing commercially available cars outfitted with sensors that help
it navigate roads without human intervention.
But now, the company has created a working prototype of a
fully autonomous car that is meant not for mapping roads or what not, but for
transporting people. The vehicle was unveiled during Recode.net’s Code
Conference in California.
The car looks a lot like a trimmed version of a Fiat 500
with a quirky looking face that looks like a smiley. The vehicle runs on electricity,
can seat two people and has no steering wheel or pedals. At the center of the
console is display unit that displays different information to the passengers
including the temperature outside, the duration of the trip and the car’s
current speed.
Sensors placed at different points on the car collect data
about the vehicle’s surrounding including its location (via a GPS receiver) as
well as objects around the car such as pedestrians, other vehicles, road
markings, traffic signs and even cyclists.
The car is specifically designed for urban commutes and has
a limited speed of 25mph. The front of the car is made with pedestrian
collision-friendly foam with a flexible windscreen that is designed to absorb
energy from an impact with a person’s body. There are also seatbelts provided
for each passenger.
Google said it’s planning to market the self-driving car as
a replacement to the taxi service but without the taxi driver. This is the
reason why on-demand driver provider Uber has expressed excitement for the
technology. According to the company’s CEO Travis Kalanick, it will replace its
network of drivers with a fleet of self-driving cars in the future once the
technology becomes mainstream.
According to Google, it will start testing this car at their Mountain View campus in the coming months to further improve the technology and iron out its limitations. For now, the search giant hasn’t provided any timeline yet on when we can expect to see the technology on the road, especially when you consider the number of legal restrictions it will face before it can be commercially available.
