subject: The Driverless Prius [print this page] The Driverless Prius The Driverless Prius
Google, the world's biggest search engine, have been using a hands free car for years to navigate the roads across the world and take images to use for their street view facility, and Google Earth. This is something that has been used until now as a passenger less vehicle, but Google revealed this to the public for the first time this month. The Toyota Prius was unveiled at the TED conference at Laguna Beach, California, and was met with a great welcome,.
The car has a range of clever sensors built into the bumper so that it knows when other crs are in the vicinity, and it uses lasers and video cameras to detect traffic and adjust its speed accordingly. The satellite systems give it precise information on how it navigates from destination to destination (meaning that it doesn't take a wrong turn in someone's garden) and is safe enough to use on the roads, as Google were criticised for doing in California last year. The car clocked over one hundred and forty thousand miles around the state, traversing roads like Lombard Street (San Francisco's super steep road) and the golden gate bridge. The car is able to keep to the speed limit, as these are all programmed into the machinery.
The only accident that the car has experienced is when a car operated by a driver went into the back of it.
Google have said "Safety has been our first priority in this project. Our cars are never unmanned. We always have a trained safety driver behind the wheel who can take over as easily as one disengages cruise control. And we also have a trained software operator in the passenger seat to monitor the software. Any test begins by sending out a driver in a conventionally driven car to map the route and road conditions. By mapping features like lane markers and traffic signs, the software in the car becomes familiar with the environment and its characteristics in advance."
If you are driving on the roads in the UK then look out for the Google mobile as it has been rumoured to being tested here. Make sure that you go online for Cheap Car Insurance just in case of a collision!
