VIDEO: Google to build its own self-driving car

Google has designed a self-driving car and plans to build up to 100 prototypes to begin testing shortly.

The company has been testing self-driving vehicles for some time, but this announcement is significant as it confirms Google will build its own cars as opposed to fitting technology to existing models. In previous trials, sensors and computers were used in existing models, but Google has now unveiled its own vehicle prototype.

Chris Urmson, director of the self-driving car project, said: “We’re now exploring what fully self- driving vehicles would look like by building some prototypes; they’ll be designed to operate safely and autonomously without requiring human intervention.

“They won’t have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal or brake pedal... because they don’t need them. Our software and sensors do all the work.

“The vehicles will be very basic — we want to learn from them and adapt them as quickly as possible — but they will take you where you want to go at the push of a button.

“And that’s an important step towards improving road safety and transforming mobility for millions of people.”

A recent update on the company’s blog announced that over 700,000 miles had been driven in initial testing using vehicles from other manufacturers such as Toyota, with the cars now on the streets of California.

It is one of a series of notable projects the firm has in development, including installing wifi in weather balloons to provide internet access to all parts of the world, and a build-it-yourself smartphone known as Project Ara.

Google has said the car prototypes will be basic “designed for learning, not luxury”, containing just two seats, storage space, and stop and go buttons. It confirmed the car would be limited to 25m/ph (40km/h), and would feature a screen to display the route you travel.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin said: “The project is about changing the world for people who are not well-served by transportation today. The main reason we wanted to develop this prototype vehicle is that we can do a better job than we can do with an existing vehicle.

“The experience feels different. You’re just sitting there, no steering wheel, no pedals — for me it was very relaxing. In about 10 seconds after getting in, I forgot I was there. It reminded me of catching a chairlift by yourself, a bit of solitude I found really enjoyable. But the big one is really in safety.”

Mr Brin was also keen to point out that while Google believes it can innovate in the transport industry, it is not looking to kill off normal cars. “I’m not advocating we get rid of all cars that don’t drive themselves, though some features we’ve developed may be useful for those cars. There is a mix of what people want. I expect people will use a mix — some will want their own car to drive, and sometimes they’ll choose to use a self-driving car.”

The wider motoring industry is intrigued but are keen to see better infrastructure put in place to ensure that the technology has every chance to succeed.

Google has said it will spend the “next couple of years” developing the car, with a full-scale pilot scheme planned at some point in the future.