Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Mobile

    Google Begins Pilot Tests of Autonomous Vehicles in Austin

    By
    Jaikumar Vijayan
    -
    July 8, 2015
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Google self-driving car

      Google began pilot tests of its autonomous cars in Austin, Texas, a sign the company may be ramping up efforts to bring the vehicles to the market relatively quickly.

      In a brief note on its Self-Driving Car Project page on Google+, the company said it has started testing one of its custom-rigged, self-driving Lexus SUVs in the downtown Austin area. The goal is to test the company’s software in as many different driving environments and road conditions as possible, Google noted.

      “So we are ready to take on Austin’s pedicabs, pickup trucks and everything in between,” the Google+ post noted. “Keep it weird for us, Austin, and visit our website to let us know how we are driving.”

      Google will have safety drivers on board the autonomous Lexus vehicles that it is testing in Austin.

      However, in other tests conducted closer to its home base in California, the company has also been seeing how self-driving cars of its own design perform under road conditions.

      In May, Google got the go-ahead from the California Department of Transportation to test its prototype autonomous vehicles on public roads in Mountain View. The cars, which Google designed from the ground up, are built purely for autonomous use and operate without a traditional steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedal.

      The cars are equipped with a slew of onboard sensors and software that control every aspect of their operation. Each car has space for two people, a limited amount of luggage and a button to start and stop the vehicle. Google has said it will build about 100 of its autonomous vehicles and put them through tests on public roads throughout the country in the next few years.

      The pilot tests announced in Austin this week suggest that Google has moved into the next phase of its plans to put self-driving cars on American roads by 2020. The company has claimed that such vehicles will be a lot safer than manually driven cars because of the advanced collision avoidance, braking and other technologies built into them.

      According to the company, its self-driving cars have been in just 11 minor collisions over the past six years and 1.7 million miles that Google has tested them. In all instances, the accidents occurred when a safety driver was at the helm and not when the vehicle was in fully autonomous mode, the company claims.

      Google also hopes to someday take advantage of autonomous cars to deliver ridesharing services similar to Uber, to people in cities around the world. Earlier this week, Israel’s Haaretz reported on Google’s apparent plans to start testing a carpooling service for office workers in the country. The service, dubbed RideWith, is expected to become widely available in major cities around the world if the pilot tests are successful.

      For the conceivable future, RideWith will likely rely on regular, manually controlled vehicles for the service, but Google has made no secret of its desire to use roving fleets of autonomous vehicles to deliver ridesharing services sometime in future.

      Despite its push into the autonomous vehicle space, Google is unlikely to enter the automobile manufacturing business. Instead, the company will most likely simply license its self-driving car technology to a manufacturer.

      Jaikumar Vijayan
      Vijayan is an award-winning independent journalist and tech content creation specialist covering data security and privacy, business intelligence, big data and data analytics.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×