Sunday, June 1, 2014

Google's self-driving car has no steering wheel



Google has been demonstrating its driverless technology for several years by retrofitting Toyotas, Lexuses and other cars with cameras and sensors. But now, for the first time, the company has unveiled a prototype of its own: a cute little car that looks like a cross between a VW Beetle and a golf cart.
"They won't have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal ... because they don't need them," Google said Tuesday in a blog post introducing the unnamed electric vehicles. "Our software and sensors do all the work."
Unlike previous models, these cars won't have human drivers monitoring them at all times. Google said the cars can detect objects up to 200 yards away in all directions and adjust their speed, turns and braking accordingly.
The cars' speed for now has been capped at 25 mph, allowing engineers to minimize the risk of crashes during testing.
The company plans to build about 100 prototype vehicles and begin testing them later this summer. If everything goes well, Google then will run a small pilot program in California over the next few years.

Source : CNN