{"id":76869,"date":"2014-05-28T08:15:57","date_gmt":"2014-05-28T12:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=76869"},"modified":"2014-05-28T08:15:57","modified_gmt":"2014-05-28T12:15:57","slug":"google-planning-to-build-100-self-driving-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2014\/05\/google-planning-to-build-100-self-driving-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Planning to Build 100 Self-Driving Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Looking a bit like a cross betwen an old Beetle and a Smart Fortwo, Google will produce 100 of these autonomous prototypes this year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Google will build 100 prototypes of its self-driving cars as the next step in plans to make autonomous driving a common feature on American roads in the not-too-distant future.<\/p>\n

The high-tech firm has been one of the leaders of the effort to move autonomous driving out of the realm of science fiction and transform it into a day-to-day reality. Google\u2019s announcement could put it ahead of automakers such as Nissan which has promised to put its own self-driving vehicle into production by 2020.<\/p>\n

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On Top of the News!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Google autonomous prototypes won\u2019t be sold to the public, however. They will be used to prove out the technology the firm is developing. But they offer a glimpse of what could come much sooner than many experts had anticipated only a few years ago and will be distinctly different from even today\u2019s \u00a0most technologically advanced vehicles in several key ways \u2013 among them the lack of a steering wheel.<\/p>\n

After driving one of the prototypes, Google co-founder Sergey Brin told a tech conference, “It reminded me of catching a chairlift by yourself, a bit of solitude I found really enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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California-based Google already operates a fleet of prototype autonomous vehicles using modified conventional cars like this Toyota Prius.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Much of the basic technology that will be used in tomorrow\u2019s autonomous cars \u2013 such as radar, laser and sonar sensors — already can be found on today’s vehicles. The key challenge is coming up with the computational algorithms, the software required to pilot a vehicle through the complicated decisions needed to handle thick traffic and unusual intersections.<\/p>\n

Google, however, has logged 10s of thousands of miles with its earlier \u201cmules,\u201d conventional vehicles modified to drive autonomously.<\/p>\n

There is an ongoing debate over precisely what sort of vehicles will reach market first. Some experts \u2013 and some major carmakers \u2013 are betting that the initial focus will be on vehicles that can assist the driver who will remain in control. But Google is among those who want to hand off driving duties entirely, said Chris Urmson, director of the firm\u2019s autonomous vehicle project.<\/p>\n

“Ever since we started the Google self-driving car project, we\u2019ve been working toward the goal of vehicles that can shoulder the entire burden of driving,” Urmson said.<\/p>\n

(Study finds nearly 90% of Americans “worried” about driving in autonomous vehicles. <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a> for the story.) <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The launch of the new prototypes, which have been designed specifically for autonomous driving, takes the project to a new level, he noted in a blog post.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re now exploring what fully self-driving vehicles would look like by building some prototypes; they\u2019ll be designed to operate safely and autonomously without requiring human intervention. They won\u2019t have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal\u2026 because they don\u2019t need them,” he said.<\/p>\n

Urmson said the vehicles will be very basic, with few creature comforts. And their speed will be capped at just 25 mph.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the inside, we\u2019ve designed for learning, not luxury, so we\u2019re light on creature comforts, but we\u2019ll have two seats (with seatbelts), a space for passengers\u2019 belongings, buttons to start and stop, and a screen that shows the route\u2014and that\u2019s about it,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

The first prototypes will be built this summer, initially with manual controls to build confidence. Testing should begin by autumn.<\/p>\n

(What to do inside an autonomous vehicle? Rinspeed’s XChangE concept offers options for travelers to pass the time. <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a> for a closer look.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Prototype vehicles can cost as much as $1 million apiece to build because they’re assembled by hand, which means Google could be sinking as much as $100 million into the project.<\/p>\n

“If all goes well, we\u2019d like to run a small pilot program here in California in the next couple of years. We\u2019re going to learn a lot from this experience, and if the technology develops as we hope, we\u2019ll work with partners to bring this technology into the world safely,” he said.<\/p>\n

One of the challenges will be ensuring that the vehicles actually can be legally operated on the street. Several states, including Nevada and Michigan, already have enacted laws permitting testing of autonomous vehicles \u2013 but they require a licensed driver to be sitting behind the wheel to take control in an emergency. It\u2019s unclear how the Google vehicles, without a steering wheel, would be accepted.<\/p>\n

California is in the process of developing its own licensing policies for autonomous prototypes and officials say the Google project will force them to move more quickly than they originally planned.<\/p>\n

(For more on California’s efforts to craft autonomous vehicle guidelines, <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Virtually every major automaker is now working on autonomous vehicle technology. The United Nations even stepped into the discussion this past week with a clarification of a global treaty that some thought might restrict hands-off driving.<\/p>\n

Studies show significant interest in the technology, but also plenty of skepticism among the drivers who might someday be offered self-driving cars. But Google\u2019s Urmson believes they\u2019ll be sold by the potential advantages.<\/p>\n

“You can take a trip downtown at lunchtime without a 20-minute buffer to find parking,\u201d he said. \u201cSeniors can keep their freedom even if they can\u2019t keep their car keys. And drunk and distracted driving could become a thing of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Google producing its own vehicle prototypes, some have begun to wonder whether the well-funded firm might actually want to enter the automotive business. So far, Google has only indicated it would like to find a traditional automaker interested in partnering with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs vehicles become more technology dependent, it makes sense that Google is interested in participating the automotive category,\u201d said Jared Rowe, President of Kelley Blue Book. \u00a0 \u201cGoogle will have a lot to learn about automotive manufacturing if they do end up wanting to become a mainstream brand, however, they have the resources necessary to succeed if they put the full weight of their resources toward it. \u00a0But only time will tell, as we need to make sure that autonomous driving technology works and we can feel safe \u2013 inside and outside of the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Google will build 100 prototypes of its self-driving cars as the next step in plans to make autonomous driving a common feature on American roads in the not-too-distant future. TheDetroitBureau.com takes a closer look at the story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20009,"featured_media":76872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76869"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76869"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=76869"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=76869"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=76869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}