Google's self-driving car is real: No steering, accelerator or brake

Google’s self-driving car is no secret. The Search giant has now built some prototypes. Yes, you heard it right. The Google car is for real, and interestingly comes without a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal, as a car driver won’t need any of it. The software and sensors do all the driving.

Google reportedly aims at building up to 200 such cars and hopes these vehicles will be available in various cities within the next couple of years.

Google is known to be testing self-driving cars since 2009, incorporating laser sensors and radars into standard automobiles such as the Prius from Toyota Motor Corp and sport-utility vehicles from Toyota luxury car division Lexus, according to Reuters.

While those vehicles require a human to remain in the driver’s seat and to take over in certain situations, the new cars operate completely autonomously.

In its official blog post , Google reveals, “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 toward improving road safety and transforming mobility for millions of people. “

For now, it is a cute-looking ptototype that would remind you of Tata Nano. If the technology develops, Google plans to work with partners to bring this technology into the world safely. Talking about the interiors, the car has two seats and some space for passengers’ belongings. “On the inside, we’ve designed for learning, not luxury, so we’re light on creature comforts, but we’ll have two seats (with seatbelts), a space for passengers’ belongings, buttons to start and stop, and a screen that shows the route—and that’s about it,” adds the blog.

Basically, at the push of a button, the car safely takes you to your destination, says Google. It has been designed keeping safety in mind. The self-driving Google car is infused with sensors that can remove blind spots and detect distant objects. For now, the speed limit has been capped to 25mph. With the new car, drunk and distracted driving will be history, says Google.

Google has also posted a video with several people talking about their experience after a test drive. A passenger said how she can utilize the time to spend with her kids rather than focussing on driving, while an elderly couple shared how the car went really slow before a curve and accelerated only in the curve. Take a look at the video below:

Google plans to build a hundred prototype vehicles, and later this summer, the company’s safety drivers will start testing early versions of these vehicles that have manual controls. Google also plans to run a small pilot program in California in the next couple of years, provided all goes well.  

With input from Reuters