Self-Driving Car is a project led by Google, which is specifically focused on the development of autonomous cars, chiefly electric cars. In the latest development, the project has been given a green signal to be tested this summer on the public roads of Mountain View, California.
Today, on Google’s official blog, Project Director, Chris Urmson stated that, the prototype cars will be having safety drivers at their disposal and will only be driven at a speed limit of 25mph. As touted by Google, self-driving cars have already covered around one million miles on road and they will be employed with the same software that is integrated in the Lexus RX450h series of self-driving cars.
Recent reports also claimed the cars to be involved in road mishaps, however, in most of such cases the vehicle was not wholly responsible for it, it was mainly due to external forces as well.
For the starters, self-driving cars will also accommodate a steering wheel and gas pedal, as current California regulations have strict pre-requisite for these functions. These regulations also necessitate a driver to be able to take control of the vehicle at any given time. But Google is bidding more relaxed rules for the next-generation vehicles. Initially, the company will develop and test 25 units, mostly to be tested in the surroundings near its Mountain View headquarters. With time it will spike it up to 50 and 100, and will change the testing terrains to more rainy and hilly for extreme results.
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