Google’s first “fully functional” driverless car has been unveiled, ready to be tested on public roads in the New Year. The internet giant posted a picture online of the white, bubble-shaped car, the most complete self-driving vehicle it has yet put together.
Previous efforts created by the search firm have been described as “prototypes-of-prototypes” that lacked such fundamental things as headlights.
They have also created self-driving equipment – including sensors and a central computer - that could be fitted to cars such as a Lexus SUV and a Toyota Prius.
The latest model is the first Google driverless car consisting of all the different elements needed to get around, including steering and brakes.
A message posted on the firm’s Google Plus page said that the car had been "zipping around our test track," adding: "We hope to see you on the street of Northern California in the New Year."
The post said:
"Today we're unwrapping the beat holiday gift we could've imagined. The first real build of our self-driving vehicle prototype. The vehicle we unveiled in May was an early mockup - it didn't even have real headlights! Since then, we've been working on different prototype-of-prototype, each deigned to test different system of self-driving- car -for example, the typical "car" parts like steering and brakes, as well as the ''self-driving" parts like the computer and sensors. We've now put all those system together in this fully functional vehicle - our first complete prototype for fully autonomous driving."
When the technology is perfected, it is hoped that driverless cars will ease congestion and reduce the number of road accidents, because driving will be regulated by less error-prone computers.
Earlier this month, George Osborne announced that driverless cars will be tested in 2015 in four towns: Bristol, Greenwich, Coventry and Milton Keynes.
View another pic below:
No comments:
Post a Comment