From the FAQ:<p><i>Will Google’s self-driving cars get into accidents? Have they gotten into accidents before?</i><p>> <i>Safety is our top priority. In the 6 years of our project, we’ve been involved in a small number of accidents in more than 1.8 million miles of autonomous and manual driving combined. Our vehicles have not caused any accidents while in self-driving mode. For more information, view our monthly reports.</i><p>So no accidents in self-driving mode; a "small number" during "manual driving"...and credit to Google, even though there is only one monthly report, it contains a listing of past accidents:<p><a href="http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en/us/selfdrivingcar/files/reports/report-0515.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en/...</a><p>I skimmed over the dozen listed incidents. Several of them were during "autonomous" mode but are incidents in which another car is described as hitting the vehicle. Arguably, none of the "manual" mode accidents were egregiously the fault of Google.<p>However, I think the definition of "caused" will be debate here and for years to come. In one Feb. 2015 incident, the autonomous Google car is struck in the side rear by a car that rolled through a crossbound stop sign. The Google car is described as "Applying the brakes in response to its detection of the other vehicle's speed and trajectory"...since the collision ended up happening anyway, and it hit the <i>rear</i> of the Google car...doesn't that imply that if the Google car <i>hadn't</i> cautiously applied the brakes while going through the intersection, it would have cleared the intersection without getting hit? Also worth noting: the Google human driver tried to take control during the autobrake sequence...so it's possible that his/her reaction and manual braking was what led to the rear collision.
> Aging or visually impaired loved ones wouldn't have to give up their independence.<p>I know this is simply phase one, but I'm hoping google puts some emphasis on individuals in wheelchairs in future prototypes because this technology can be life changing for some with extremely limited mobility - my mother being one of them. Independence is key here and the the majority of us can't conceive what it's like to to be dependent on others for everything. A user with a wheelchair or power chair needs to able to get in and out of the self driving car with zero assistance.
I am curious why google dabbles in all these strange projects removed from their core business, which seems to be organizing the worlds information and making some money off that. are these merely hobbies of eccentric, rich founders?<p>On the other hand I am glad somebody is pouring money into fundamental research. The government has limited funds. Many big companies that formally had big R&D cutback during downsizings.
Don't miss the reports section:
<a href="http://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/reports/" rel="nofollow">http://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/reports/</a>
which links to a May 2015 report that gives info about accidents and computer vision
Google doesn't give out much info about how their system works. It seems to be very much like the technology from the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007. Most of the improvements since seem to relate to predicting the movements of other street users. That's not surprising, considering Google's focus on "big data".<p>Sensor technology hasn't improved much. It's still mostly cameras, Velodyne rotating LIDAR units and off the shelf centimeter Doppler RADAR units. Flash LIDAR and millimeter RADAR aren't volume products yet. They will be once auto companies get serious about this.<p>The DARPA Humanoid Challenge is live today. Watch: <a href="http://www.theroboticschallenge.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.theroboticschallenge.org/</a>
I can't wait until I don't have to drive, but it's hard to see how much of a difference google is making. We're in downtown MV and these cars are continuously driving around, and one is parked every night a couple of houses down from my girlfriend's house.<p>The problem is, they drive the same routes over and over. I always see them in the same places, and nowhere else. They have hyper-mapped a small number of routes (mm resolution). And all that highway driving: MV to SF and back on 280, over and over and over again.<p>I am sure they are making progress, but how much?
Little surprised to see no comments on the car's aesthetic design. My first thought was "ew". At least with Tesla they tried to go with a design that was very appealing to the eye. This car looks like an ugly, mass-produced POC. My better senses tell me it is a prototype unit that was built for function over form. Just saying, if you want to get the public behind your idea, better put together something that is a little more sexy.<p>Then again, Smart Cars are equally ugly and they have gained some huge traction, at least with car2go, so what do I know.
This is really impressive. However, has any one else thought about the ethical dilemmas these algorithms will have to decide upon?<p>Say for instance that two pedestrians, a young child and an old person, suddenly find themselves in front of a self-driving car. There is not time for the car to brake in time so the algorithm has to make a choice: Which pedestrian gets hit?<p>I think we'll see more questions like these in the coming years as AI progresses and we become more dependent on it.
I'm trying to figure out if I can keep my current car until autonomous vehicles become broadly available. Anyone here have an informed opinion on when that will happen?