The self-driving car is a reality: the 'Google car' has announced that it has developed the prototype and is ready to test it on the road. There has been a lot of talk about it in recent months, but now the big moment has arrived and soon, indeed very soon, it will be possible to see cars on the road that do everything – or almost everything – by themselves. “We will spend the Christmas holidays busy with tests and checks,” promises a post published in the social networks Google+ “and in the new year we hope to see you driving around San Francisco on our cars”. As already stated in a press release from the Californian company in May, the 'Google car' has no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals: all the work is done by the software developed by Google and by the sensors it is equipped with the car. Human intervention is limited to the "stop" and "go" buttons. The photo of the prototype shows a white economy car with soft and rounded lines, which vaguely resembles a ladybird. The small size and low speed (the 'Google car' can reach a maximum of 40 km per hour) make it a perfect city car. "We've been working on prototypes of prototypes," says the company spokesman, "each designed to test different parts of the car or individual software applications." “Finally,” he continues, “all these systems have been unified and made to interact with each other, resulting in a fully functional vehicle: the first car that drives itself”. Automating some driving functions, such as parking, is nothing new and several car manufacturers have already done it, but what the 'Google car' offers is truly revolutionary. "If Google's car is successful and widespread," says Mike Hudson of market research firm eMarketer, "it will transform the automotive market like the smartphone transformed the phone market."
Attachments: The Japan Today article
