Google Self-Driving Car Project moved one more step
forward as the internet giant unveiled its first "fully functional"
prototype for its own self-driving car and plans to test it on public roads in
the New Year.
The dainty two-seater still requires government
approval before it can legally operate without a human driver through suburban
office parks or downtown streets, but the milestone is the latest sign that
driverless cars could soon be a fixture in Silicon Valley neighborhoods and
other parts of the world.
Google is now one of seven companies -- from Nissan
to Mercedes-Benz -- that since September have won approval from the US Department
of Motor Vehicles to test driverless cars on public roads. But with 25 test
vehicles and 107 permitted drivers, Google appears far more invested in the
public experimentation than its rivals -- and it is the first company to unveil
its own prototype, rather than just retrofitting other model cars with
driverless software.
Technical specifics about the prototype were not
disclosed.Earlier this year, Google said the top speed of the battery-powered
prototypes would be 40 kilometres per hour and they would be designed for
utility, not luxury.
For Google, the car marks a shift away from adapting
vehicles made by others in its quest to pioneer individual transport that needs
only a stop-and-go function.
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