Self-Driving Cars from Google

Have you heard about Google's latest big secret? No, it is not a new browser, OS, CEO or code! It is a new car - correction, a new type of car - that Google has been testing. And we must say, they have been very secretive about it, keeping it well away from prying eyes... so far!

What is Google "Driving" At, Now?
The giant multinational company recently announced, rather casually on its Google Blog, that it has been testing a new type of fully automated car. They have teamed up with some engineers at DARPA Challenges and to bring out a car that can be driven without a human being sitting inside it!

The reason they felt compelled to launch a fully automated car is that they believe too many people are killed on the roads due to human error: annually, 1.2 million people are killed on the road, according to a WHO statistic.

If we remove the flawed judgement of a human from the equation, it results in two things: a car controlled by a machine/computer and, ergo, safer roads.

Self-Driving Cars
How will this impact our lives and lifestyles? The blog talks about a unique forward-thinking concept of "highway trains". This will be a direct result of shared cars and car pooling. These trains will result in a cleaner environment as they will reduce emissions and the use of precious fossil fuels. A fully automated bus or train would also make our roads safer, reducing accidents and traffic jams.

This will also leave us more free time to pursue other interests, as commuting will become quicker and more efficient. If solar-powered electric cars can be used, they will leave almost a zero carbon footprint too.

Google's automated cars have, so far, completed an astounding 140,000 miles. These cars operate by using radar sensors, maps, video cameras as well as a "laser range finder" that helps them sense and "see" other vehicles and pedestrians on the road. All this information is fed into Google's central data bank, which processes it and then maps the terrain for these cars.

The Team That Built Google's Self-Driving Cars
The team that was responsible for this remarkable type of car includes Chris Urmson (team leader of the winning CMU team at the Urban Challenge, 2007), Mike Montemerlo (the Stanford lead for the winning team of the Grand Challenge, 2005) and Anthony Levandowski (builder of the first automated bike, as well as the builder of a fully automated pizza delivery vehicle).

During these tests, Google clarified, their test cars were always manned by a trained driver and a software professional, and they received support from the local California police.