I’m amazed and impressed that Google has been testing self-driving cars. As a resident of Los Angeles’ Koreatown, I see hundreds of old Korean women driving every day. It’s terrifying. A self-driving car would save thousands of lives each year. I kid, I kid. Seriously, the tech is pretty awesome and something that can possibly hit mass production within a decade. Here’s more info from a Google blog post by distinguished software engineer Sebastian Thrun:
We have developed technology for cars that can drive themselves. Our automated cars, manned by trained operators, just drove from our Mountain View campus to our Santa Monica office and on to Hollywood Boulevard. They’ve driven down Lombard Street, crossed the Golden Gate bridge, navigated the Pacific Coast Highway, and even made it all the way around Lake Tahoe. All in all, our self-driving cars have logged over 140,000 miles. We think this is a first in robotics research.
Our automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to “see” other traffic, as well as detailed maps (which we collect using manually driven vehicles) to navigate the road ahead. This is all made possible by Google’s data centers, which can process the enormous amounts of information gathered by our cars when mapping their terrain.
I really didn’t think this was something that would happen in my lifetime, but it’s almost here! That’s not to say Google’s endeavor is all about being geek chic and advancing humanity. I can easily see these cars having a new type of advertising (that is Google’s bread and butter, after all). Imagine hopping in your car, wondering where to eat, and doing a Google Maps voice search through the car’s dashboard. After you find a place via search, your self-drving cars brings you to the restaurant. Advertisers would pay big-time money for direct connections like that and I’m sure Google would be more than happy to sell the ad “space”.
What do you guys and dolls think of the self-driving car? I’m totally in love with the concept, but considering that I haven’t had a drivers license in 15 years, my opinion is probably atypical.
Image via The New York Times
That is awesome, if this comes to fruition the benefits for elderly and handicap(able) people will be tremendous! Also for drunk drivers, that technology can potentially save the lives of thousands and perhaps millions of car related injuries.