Who knew the future could look so friendly?
"The human feeling of it is very well engineered,
and it's very smooth.
There's nothing that makes you feel the least
bit threatened.
It's impressive.
I'm totally in love with this whole concept."
(Via Google SaveFrom.net)
That was Google's new prototype self-driving
car — a friendly, cartoonish version of
the autonomous Lexus of yesteryear.
(Via Flickr / Stanford Center for Internet
and Society)
The company says it has removed all the controls
we've come to expect in a vehicle — inside,
you'll find two buttons, one to make it go
and one to make it stop in an emergency.
Google says the prototype's focus is on safety.
"They have sensors that remove blind spots,
and they can detect objects out to a distance
of more than two football fields in all directions
... we've capped the speed of these first
vehicles at 25 mph.
On the inside ... we'll have two seats (with
seatbelts), a space for passengers' belongings,
buttons to start and stop, and a screen that
shows the route."
(Via Google)
​Re/code got a chance to try out the vehicle
— its safety features apparently made things
a little too safe.
"Uh-oh.
Oh-no.
Run 'em over!
Oh, where's the fun in that?"
The outlet spoke with Chris Urmson, the head
of Google's self-driving car unit.
He says the car has been designed with passenger
and pedestrian safety in mind.
"The front end is a whole new approach where
it's compressible foam and a flexible windshield
that should do a much better job of protecting
people if an accident should occur."
(Via Re/code)
Google will build nearly 100 of the bulbous
vehicles, with the ultimate goal of launching
a pilot program in California.
And Google co-founder Sergey Brin tells The
New York Times he has big plans for the car's
future.
"Self-driving cars have the potential to drive
in trains much closer together and, in theory,
in the future at much higher speeds.
There is nothing to say that once you demonstrate
the safety, why can't you go 100 miles per
hour?"
One hundred miles per hour in a clown car
... I hope I live to see the day.
(Via YouTube / H8Bozos SaveFrom.net)
