Google unveils its self-driving car

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Google demoed its self-driving car at the 2011 TED conference in California.

WHEELS.CA

Imagine sitting in a car, but not having to drive it. Now, imagine every other car on the road similarly cruising on auto pilot, making fender benders history and the daily commute relatively stress-free.

Internet giant Google is attempting to make this a reality in our time.

Last week, the company demoed its hands-free cars at the 2011 TED conference in California. For the first time, members of the public were able to take a spin in an automated Toyota Prius, the results of which can be seen in the videos below.

Google says it has logged more than 225,308 km around California in the cars — almost all of them on auto pilot.

The company believes such a car could help halve the 1.2 million traffic fatalities suffered around the world.

“We need them, and people want them,” Google software engineer Sebastian Thrun told CBS News.

So how exactly does the high-tech car work?

First, a driver sets a destination (much like you would in the Google Maps app on your iPhone) and the car calculates a route before setting off, controlling the steering, accelerating and braking on its own.

A roof-mounted rotating camera, radar sensors, and laser range finders are used to “see” other cars to keep a safe distance in traffic.

The vehicle also uses information gathered from Google Maps to anticipate traffic lights, stop signs, and other landmarks. Posted speed limits are followed at all times, and the car adapts as speeds increase and decrease.

While “drivers” in this car don’t actually do any driving, they can step in to take manual control of the wheel should there be an emergency or a problem.

Understandably, some drivers may be turned off by the idea of an automatic car as boring and perfunctory. But Google says such a car would serve to help cut deadly traffic accidents and make driving safer.

“Lots of people have accidents,” says Thrun. “If we can make cars safer, we can make driving much more convenient.”

Take a look at the self-driving car in action below.