Google Cars Drive Themselves, in Traffic
October 11, 2010
Google has stated on its official blog that it has 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,” said Sebastian Thrun, Distinguished Software Engineer at Google and also Professor of Computer Science and director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University.
“We’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.” (Yes, they also have a trained safety driver behind the wheel who can “take over as easily as one disengages cruise control,” and a trained software operator in the passenger seat to monitor the software.)
With help from the best engineers from the DARPA Challenges, the automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to “see” other traffic, as well as detailed maps (which they 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.”
Comments (6)
by stickstacks
I wonder if they’re going to incorporate wireless tech into these cars so they can “talk” to each other? Seems like it would be that much safer if they could communicate in real time and know when one another was going to do something like slam on the brakes etc.
by drjdsjr
When cars can drive themselves with bumper to bumper spacing at optimal speed, fewer people are going to die. I rather like that.
by deepzee68
And do they select their routes to maximize exposure to Google-owned billboards?
by Kristoph77
I wouldnt consider myself luddite, I full encourage and even revel in the thought of this system being torn down via innovation, actully Im really excited to see a significat step in that direction. All of news article I’ve read fail to metion anything about how this may change society which is always the most signifigent aspect of any advancement. Spurring conversation about those changes was my goal for the psot and I appreciate the responce. I hadn’t consider the 24/7 aspect of delivery services, I was still caught up in the idea of not being killed on my way home from the bar but your right im wont be run off the road by sleepy truckers either.
by Kristoph77
This technology is a perfect example of automation saturation which will disrupt the world economy is ways that will be difficult to predict. Once fully automated vehicle technology is mastered and trusted the need for thousands upon thousands of drivers will be eliminated. Taxi drivers, truck driver, construction jobs, military patrols, postal and express service (with some additional robotics), aircraft, farming, and countless others will gradually be reduced and eliminated. Worldwide millions upon millions of jobs will be lost. As with any automation though the end product is less expensive and therefore we could see the cost of living decrease and quality of life increase. It maybe a scary ride initially, but a ride that has already begun and there’s no turning back.
by Imperator03
Ah, a neo-Luddite. You’re correct in one respect. If this tech is proven to be safe and is adopted universally, or nearly universally; truck drivers and others in the transportation industry will lose their jobs.
But that’s only half of the picture. Economics is just as much about what is unseen as what is seen. Because you’ve just automated the transportation system of this nation you’ve done two significant things. First you’ve drastically reduced the cost of shipping items. This can and will be reflected in the price of goods, which is always good for the customer. Second, you’ll have; in essence; created a system that runs 24/7. So not only will goods cost less to ship, they will arrive much more quickly than they do today.
For every loser in an economy, there is a winner. Online sales, in particular, will benefit; as will brick and click, and more traditional stores. Lower transportation costs will enable businesses to expand, creating opportunity where there once was none.