Google Robot Cars
Google has been testing self-driving cars on roads in California and so far they've avoided everything but a minor fender bender caused by a human-driven car.
Google's robot car is equipped with artificial-intelligence software.
Rotating sensor on its roof : which can scan more than 200 feet in all directions to create a 3D map of the car's environs
A video camera mounted behind the windshield : which helps the navigation system spot pedestrians, bicyclists, and traffic lights
Three radar devices on the front bumper, and one in the back; and a sensor on one of the wheels: that allows the system to determine the car's position on the 3D map.
The car also features a GPS device and a motion sensor.
The car follows a route programmed into the GPS system, and it can be instructed to drive cautiously, or more aggressively.
Engineers say robot cars aren't susceptible to drowsiness or driving under the influence, and that eventually they might allow for more cars on the road, because they can drive closer to other vehicles, and less fuel consumption, because their safety would allow them to be made lighter, with less defensive armor.
The man behind the project, Sebastian Thrun, a Google engineer and co-inventor of Google's Street View mapping project, was also behind the autonomous auto that won the $2 million prize in the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, a contest to see if a driver less vehicle could successfully navigate nearly 150 miles in the California desert.
Check out his interview in the following Google Video:
[video=google;-7948569033067579529]https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7948569033067579529#[/video]
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