Auto Check

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Tuesday, 7 August 2012

The self-driving car logs more miles on new wheels

Posted on 10:32 by Unknown
Technology is at its best when it makes people’s lives better, and that’s precisely what we’re going for with our self-driving car project. We’re using advanced computer science to try and make driving safer and more enjoyable.

Our vehicles, of which about a dozen are on the road at any given time, have now completed more than 300,000 miles of testing. They’ve covered a wide range of traffic conditions, and there hasn’t been a single accident under computer control.

We’re encouraged by this progress, but there’s still a long road ahead. To provide the best experience we can, we’ll need to master snow-covered roadways, interpret temporary construction signals and handle other tricky situations that many drivers encounter. As a next step, members of the self-driving car team will soon start using the cars solo (rather than in pairs), for things like commuting to work. This is an important milestone, as it brings this technology one step closer to every commuter. One day we hope this capability will enable people to be more productive in their cars. For now, our team members will remain in the driver’s seats and will take back control if needed.


And while these team members are commuting, many of them will be testing our algorithms on a new type of vehicle we’ve added to the self-driving car family over the past few months to help us refine our systems in different environments and on different terrain: the Lexus RX450h.

With each breakthrough we feel more optimistic about delivering this technology to people and dramatically improving their driving experience. We’ll see you on the road!

Posted by Chris Urmson, Engineering Lead
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to Facebook
Posted in | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • A look inside our 2011 diversity report
    We work hard to ensure that our commitment to diversity is built into everything we do—from hiring our employees and building our company cu...
  • Accelerating diversity in entrepreneurship with NewME
    For the last three months, the NewMe Accelerator class of spring 2012 has been fully immersed in the entrepreneurial process. The NewMe “fo...
  • Hulu Plus now works with Chromecast
    Hulu has added Chromecast support to their Hulu Plus app—just in time for the fall television season. Now you can easily enjoy your favori...
  • Explore the Galapagos’ biodiversity with Street View
    This week marks the 178th anniversary of Darwin’s first exploration of the Galapagos Islands. This volcanic archipelago is one of the most b...
  • Update from the CEO
    Sergey and I first heard about Android back in 2004, when Andy Rubin came to visit us at Google. He believed that aligning standards around ...
  • Marking the fall of the Iron Curtain
    There are certain events in history that are momentous enough to make you remember where you were at the time. This Friday is the 23rd anniv...
  • Google Maps now has schedules for more than one million public transit stops worldwide
    Since 2005 , we’ve collaborated with hundreds of transit authorities around the world to make a comprehensive resource for millions of rider...
  • New free expression tools from Google Ideas
    As long as people have expressed ideas, others have tried to silence them. Today one out of every three people lives in a society that is s...
  • The tree versus the shadow
    Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. —Abraham Lincoln Whe...
  • Celebrating teachers on National Teacher Day
    One of the best parts of my job working on the Google Education team has been hearing inspiring stories time and again of great teachers who...

Categories

  • accessibility
  • acquisition
  • ads
  • Africa
  • Android
  • apps
  • Asia
  • books + book search
  • chrome
  • chrome + chrome os
  • commerce
  • computing history
  • crisis response
  • Cultural Institute
  • culture
  • developers
  • display advertising
  • diversity
  • doodles
  • education
  • education and research
  • energy
  • enterprise
  • entrepreneurs at Google
  • entrepreneurship
  • Europe
  • events
  • faster web
  • free expression
  • g2g
  • giving
  • Google Apps highlights
  • google ideas
  • google play
  • google.org
  • google+
  • googleplus
  • googlers and culture
  • government transparency
  • green
  • innovation
  • ipv6
  • journalism and news
  • Latin America
  • local
  • maps and earth
  • mobile
  • online safety
  • open source
  • personalization
  • photos
  • policy and issues
  • politics
  • privacy
  • privacy and security
  • publishers
  • scholarships
  • search
  • search stories
  • search trends
  • security
  • security and safety tips
  • small business
  • transparency
  • youtube and video

Blog Archive

  • ►  2013 (190)
    • ►  December (11)
    • ►  November (13)
    • ►  October (15)
    • ►  September (12)
    • ►  August (10)
    • ►  July (13)
    • ►  June (28)
    • ►  May (16)
    • ►  April (21)
    • ►  March (18)
    • ►  February (19)
    • ►  January (14)
  • ▼  2012 (269)
    • ►  December (25)
    • ►  November (20)
    • ►  October (18)
    • ►  September (16)
    • ▼  August (19)
      • Half a gigameter of biking navigation in 12 countr...
      • Making it easier to cast your ballot
      • Google Maps heads north...way north
      • The U.S. election, live on YouTube
      • Mapping the Motor City with Google Map Maker
      • Google for Entrepreneurs goes to San Diego to empo...
      • Tour Brazil and prehispanic Mexican cities with mo...
      • Voice Search arrives in 13 new languages
      • Google Maps now has schedules for more than one mi...
      • London calling: some reflections on the digital games
      • Conquer the back to school blues with Google tools
      • Building the search engine of the future, one baby...
      • The self-driving car logs more miles on new wheels
      • The tree versus the shadow
      • A new way to visualize the global arms trade
      • Giving you a better Google
      • Our roots go global: Apply for a RISE Award today
      • Celebrate the Kennedy Space Center’s 50th birthday...
      • Google+ Hangouts and the NFL: fantasy football, fa...
    • ►  July (20)
    • ►  June (28)
    • ►  May (30)
    • ►  April (19)
    • ►  March (27)
    • ►  February (23)
    • ►  January (24)
  • ►  2011 (41)
    • ►  December (33)
    • ►  November (8)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile