Google has created a robotic car that can drive itself. In fact, their new robot car promises to “…prevent traffic accidents, free up people’s time and reduce carbon emissions by fundamentally changing car use”. The robotic vehicle use video cameras, radar sensors, and a laser range finder to visualize other traffic and detailed maps, previously recorded by a human driven vehicle, to navigate. Google implemented the technology with the help of engineers who take part in the DARPA Challenges, which are autonomous vehicle races organized by the U.S. Government.
With a driver and software engineer on board their robotic cars have driven 140,000 miles (225,000kms), including the route from the Google Mountain View campus to Google’s Santa Monica office and on to Hollywood Boulevard, navigated Lombard Street, crossed the Golden Gate bridge, traveled the Pacific Coast Highway, and done a circuit around Lake Tahoe.
Google believes they can half the 1.2 million lives lost annually in road traffic accidents, encourage car ridership sharing thereby reducing the number of road vehicles and create “highway trains of tomorrow", all of which could help reduce transportation GHG emissions.
Google also wants commuters, who spend an average of 52 minutes commuting each day, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, to spend their time more productively. This could include searching the web, checking Gmail, or some other Google inspired application, which will place more advertising in front of people and therefore generate more revenue for Google.
So, apart from being pretty cool, possibly reducing traffic accidents and reducing global warming, it could also add to Google’s bottom line in around 10-15 years time when the technology will be mature enough to enter widespread use.
Via Google
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