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What's New with Google Car? (2015-02-24)
Seems like we’re getting a healthy dose of progress a little quicker than we’re used to. Sure, we are introduced to new in-car connectivity features after every few months, which only acts as a reminder of a strange form of disappointment, (the kind where you realize that your smartphone is not compatible with your car’s interface). Speaking of new technology, Google has finally unveiled its fully functional and fully autonomous car.
And it is what you’d expect a built-from-scratch autonomous car would look like. A button-nosed car which has no steering wheel or break pedals. According to Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin, the Google car can only drive for 25 miles an hour, to increase its safety, After all, who would want a 90-Mph self driving car on the freeway. As part of its additional safety features, the fully autonomous vehicle uses around two feet of foam in the front end along with using glass instead of plastic for the windscreen.
The autonomous vehicle, which was previously revealed in May of last year is currently undergoing road tests which it plans to complete within the next few months. While this version of the self driving car is fully operational, Google plans to have more of its cars on the roads by the start of next year. That being said, having fully autonomous running on US streets will only be possible when certain laws are passed in the US. Regarding this matter, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has pointed out that it will miss the coming deadline in adopting the rules which will make this new form of transformation legal in the state.
The reluctance of different states in the US to carry pass laws for the use of fully autonomous cars on the streets is for good reason, especially when it has to do with the safety of America citizens. While only 17 states have considered legislating laws for using driverless cars, only a handful have actually implemented those laws. Some of the states where driving around in a self driving car is legal are Florida, Washington DC, Nevada, and California, with more expected to follow suit.
And while there are other car manufacturers who are tinkering with the idea of autonomous cars, it is Google and its Google car which is in the driver’s seat when it comes getting states to legalize self driving cars. But, that being said, it will all depend on to what extent the company is able to meet the safety standards that have been set up by the federal government and independent safety testing organizations.
Some of the main questions which will have to be worked on by Google are the type of traffic laws that will be introduced, what happens when the computer of an autonomous vehicle burns out. And what are the steps which will have to be taken in the event that a self driving car is hijacked by terrorists. Despite all of these looming questions and many others, the fact still remains that self driving cars are indeed the way forward, and could prove to be the answer to lowering the rate of road accidents in the US or anyplace for that matter.
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