[Nfbf-l] Drivberless cars

[Kirk]

This is really neat to read about. Kirk

driver-less cars



Green light given to Google as changes to the law make driver-less cars 
legal

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/



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Self-driving cars designed by Google will soon be a reality on the roads of 
Nevada.

State legislators have passed a bill that requires the Nevada Department of 
Motor Vehicles to draw up rules for driver-less vehicles.



Assembly Bill No 511 paves the way for Google's automated Toyota Priuses and 
Audi TT to be operated legally in the Silver State.



The hybrid vehicles use laser range finders and video cameras to detect 
traffic, and detailed maps to find their way from point to point.



'Drivers' simply set their destination and the car calculates the route and 
drives itself there.



The first amendment, which was passed last week, relates to an 
electric-vehicle bill providing for the licensing and testing of autonomous 
vehicles.



The second amendment, which has yet to be passed, is for an exemption that 
would permit sending a text message while 'behind the wheel'.



Google had hired Las Vegas-based lobbysit David Goldwater to promote its 
proposed legislation.



In April, Mr Goldwater told lawmakers that the self-driving cars are safer 
than those driven by humans and are more fuel efficient.



Google ran into controversy last year after it emerged staff had been 
testing the driver-less car on California's roads.



The vehicles logged more than 140,000 miles around the state - almost all of 
them on auto-pilot.



While staff were in the car, their hands were not on the steering wheel.



The specially-adapted Toyota Priuses drove from Google's headquarters in 
Mountain View, Northern California, down the famously scenic Pacific Coast 
Highway to Santa Monica.



They also drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and down San Francisco's 
Lombard Street, one of the steepest and curviest roads in the world.



Seven cars, which have funnel-like cylinders on the roof that acts as the 
vehicle's 'eye', have driven 1,000 miles at a time without any hands-on 
human input, Google said.



Their researchers claim the artificial intelligence technology could 
eventually halve the 1.2 million lives lost every year on roads around the 
world.



The cars have a person in the driving seat ready to step in if there is a 
problem and a software engineer sits shotgun to take care of possible 
software hiccups.



Automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to 
'see' other trafficThey keep to the speed limit because the maximum for 
every road is included in its database.



So far, said Google, the trips have been almost accident free. The only 
hitch came when another - human-driven - car rear-ended one of the pilotless 
Priuses.



'Our goal is to help prevent traffic accidents, free up people's time and 
reduce carbon emissions by fundamentally changing car use,' Sebastian Thrun, 
the researcher in charge of the project, said in March.



'Our automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range 
finder to "see" other traffic, as well as detailed maps which we collect 
using manually driven vehicles to navigate the road ahead.



Mr Thrun insisted the cars we're not a danger to other motorists.



'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.



'And we've briefed local police on our work.'





Check it out below:



http://inhabitat.com/google-succeeds-in-making-driverless-cars-legal-in-nevada/

Kirk Harmon
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