It’s sometimes hard to fathom how many innovative ventures that Google has embarked upon. One project on which the firm is spending a lot of time and money on is a driverless car. This venture has gathered a lot of buzz.
As Amir Efrati reports for the Wall Street Journal (click here to access Efrati’s full story): “Google began testing self-driving cars in 2009 under engineer Sebastian Thrun, who had previously worked on the technology with Stanford University faculty. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin pushed Mr. Thrun to perfect the technology, which allows cars to drive themselves with the aid of lasers, cameras, and other gear. In most states, autonomous vehicles are neither prohibited nor permitted — a key reason why Google’s fleet of autonomous cars secretly drove more than 100,000 miles on the road before the company announced the initiative in fall 2010. Last month, Mr. Brin said he expects self-driving cars to be publicly available within five years. Autonomous vehicles are safer than human drivers, and the technology could prevent accidents, help disabled people get around and reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption, he said.”
Click on the image for a WSJ video.
Source: Google
Chart by Christopher Kaeyser/Wall Street Journal