Google has reached an important milestone in the lifecycle of its most-ambitious project, the driverless car. After 5 years of hard work, it has finally unveiled a working prototype, which it has itself made.
Driverless car, as it is obvious from the name, can drive you without any input requirements. You just need to instruct the car – through voice commands — about a destination and that’s it.
There are no pedals or a steering wheel. It accommodates two people at the same time. The idea is to get around places without hassles “at the push of a button”. You simply get in, fasten the seat belt and give a command.
Driverless car from Google won’t be quick, however; the top speed is limited to only 25 mph but that is far from being important. Also worth noting is the fact that the vehicle, of which about 100 units will exist by summer, isn’t as accurate in rain or snow as of now.
Never the less, its just prototype and many enhancements can be expected in the final product when released.
The car is obviously electric, and also features a display at the centre of the dashboard, which may display other stuff such as a web browser too.
As many as 1.2 million people die every year from car accidents. Google just hopes to bring this rate down.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has hinted towards a possible partnership regarding the technology’s implementation so the future versions may not necessarily be made by Google itself.
There are still some concerns, though. Things can get a bit tough in case of an accident, when you won’t have anybody else to blame than you, esp. in places where laws of such technology still don’t exist. Furthermore, for a lot of people, driving is an intimate experience which has no substitutes. Worse still? The usage of our travelling data by a third-party.
Whatever the consequences, however, one thing is for sure and that is the driverless car won’t be a part of our lives until at least the end of this decade. And if anything, the liberty from driving in traffic jams is alone a big reason to switch.
