[nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?

[Bryan Schulz]

because the nfb wants to be first and wants the credit
Bryan Schulz

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 3:56 PM
Subject: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?


>I really think this is more what we are looking for. This is a car "anyone" 
>could "drive". Google has lots of resources. Why don't we jump on their 
>bandwagon?
>
> Sherri
>
> Google is testing cars that drive themselves  Google announced Sunday
>   that it has developed cars that drive themselves
> automatically in traffic, and that it has been testing them on the
> streets of California for months. It might seem like an unusual project
> for Google, but it  could actually have big benefits.
> We're not just talking about cars running Google Android.
> This is the stuff of science fiction. The only accident that has
> occurred so far: One of the cars was rear-ended by a driver at a stop
> light. Human error!
>
> The vehicles have been tested on 140,000 miles of California road, from
> Silicon Valley to Santa Monica.
>
> Each car is manned during the tests. One person sits in the driver's
> seat, ready to take control of the vehicle instantly by grabbing the
> wheel or touch the brake should something go wrong with the system. The 
> person in the
> passenger's seat is an engineer who monitors the software operations on a
> computer.
>
> Google (Google) hired engineers who previously participated in
> competitions and races involving automated cars -- important turning
> points in the development of the technology, which has been coming into 
> its own since around 2005 according to The New York Times.
>
> If your first concern is one of safety, Google would argue that you're
> going about it all wrong.
>
> Safety is one of the the project's purposes. Google believes that the
> technology could nearly half the number of automobile-related deaths
> because computers are supposedly
> better  at driving than humans in the right circumstances.
>
> There are other hypothetical pluses, too. The vehicles' instant reaction
> time and 360-degree awareness would allow them to drive closer together
> on the highway than humans can, reducing traffic congestion. They could be 
> more
> careful when operating the gas, reducing fuel consumption.
>
> But the biggest benefit for Google would be the hour or so of daily
> commute time the car owner would save. Instead of driving, he or she
> could either be productive or entertained in the vehicle, doing work on a 
> wireless
> Internet (Internet) connection or watching television.
>
> Google doesn't say it explicitly, but TechCrunch was
> quick to note that this time could be spent using Google products and 
> absorbing
> Google-run advertising.
>
> The most optimistic projections put this technology at least eight years
> away from market, though. Legal hassles are among the myriad problems;
> all of the current traffic laws assume that a human driver is present in 
> the vehicle
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