Progress on the work of Google’s self-driving car is coming along pretty nicely. In fact last we heard, Google had planned to partner with five different car manufacturers to help make their self-driving car a reality, one that they hope will be able to hit the streets come 2020. Sounds like something to look forward to, but it seems that there is still a lot of work to be done.
While there are probably a ton of areas that Google should perfect before releasing the car to the masses, one of the areas that Google admitted needs addressing is the car’s ability to drive in snow. Speaking at the Detroit Auto Show, Google’s Chris Urmson told Bloomberg that snow was one of the driving conditions that Google has yet to address.
According to Urmson, “It turns out in Mountain View, it doesn’t snow. There are a lot of places where we can get an initial deployment, understand the tests, see how people use it and then push the technological boundaries into these more challenging situations.” So for those who live in snowy areas, perhaps you shouldn’t expect to see a self-driving car from Google anytime soon.
While Google has hopes that they will be able to get the car ready in the next five years, Urmson also added that there is a possibility that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could end up banning the vehicle anyway, but hopefully that won’t be the case.
Filed in . Read more about Google.