The tech giant Google is now looking out for partners who can help them realize their dream of putting up self driven cars a commercial reality within the next five years. Not too keen to get into the manufacturing of vehicles itself, the company has made it clear that it wants to join hands with others already into car manufacturing.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the head of the autonomous vehicle project at Google, Chris Urmson, said, “We don’t particularly want to become a car maker. We are talking [with] and looking for partners.”
The autonomous car was announced by them in May this year and they hope to be able to alter the way we transport with this vehicle, they had said. The prototype then releases by the company was then only in the beta stage. More of concept than the car itself, one would say. There was a place for headlights though they were not actually there, if you remember. But now as the company says that the car is almost ready to hit the road, they now want to tie up with the right manufacturers.
The ‘new’ car looks pretty much similar to the mock-up version released by the Mountain View, California based company earlier. The style and overall look has not changed much, apart from the fact that it now looks real with the headlights on!
“A sensor dome on top is still very pronounced, as is the “nose” on the front. Sadly, if you weren’t a fan of the original design, this probably won’t suit you either.”
The car will have no steering wheel. Sensors present inside the vehicles will allow custom software to detect objects around the car. “– from pedestrians to stop signs and cyclists — and then analyzes this data to “act” accordingly.” A camera, a GPS map and 64 lasers that scan across 360 degrees will be put to use to ensure driver safety.
At a conference this year, Google cofounder Sergey Brin said he hopes the self-driving car will eventually “transform transportation around the world, and reduce the need for individual car ownership, the need for parking, road congestion and so forth.”
The head of the project Chris Urmson also added that they do not want to be ‘goofy’ enough to try and replicate the expertise of car makers and would be content in supplying them with the technology required for making it a reality.
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