Google’s self-driving car prototype will make its debut on public roads this summer in California. The car has no gas pedal and a removable steering wheel, leaving the computer in charge of all the driving.
Google’s mission is to have driverless cars available to consumers in the next five years.
Google expects to develop a completely autonomous vehicle, one that reduces “driving” to little more than getting in, entering a destination, and enjoying the ride. Google’s self-driving car project leader, Chris Urmson, said, “Ever since we started the Google self-driving car project, we’ve been working toward the goal of vehicles that can shoulder the entire burden of driving.”
One concern that has been raised is that humans will become worse at driving as they drive less and less, but Google believes computers can drive better than humans do, and it’s working full speed to hand over the controls completely, and as soon as possible.