Google is quickly moving forward on its robot car business venture. The company says the car is still in its testing phase, but it is already working on legislation in at least one state in order to test more cars.
As reported in previous posts on the blog, Google is branching out from the Internet search engine business and developing an autonomous car that is driven by computers. After changing the way people find and use information with its Google search engine, Google now wants to change the way people get around and the way society uses cars for transportation.
According to a recent article in The New York Times by John Markoff, after testing its cars in California, Google now wants to begin testing them in Nevada. The company has hired a local lobbyist who has appealed to lawmakers in the state. The company wants two bills passed that will make it possible to test the cars in the state. One says that robot cars can be licensed and tested, and the other bill provides an exemption to the state’s texting-while-driving ban so that people can text if they are behind the wheel of a car driven by a computer.
The head scientist on the project is Sebastian Thrun who comes across as a brilliant visionary in the article. He says that he imagines a day when people can walk out of their house and call a shared smart car on their phone and have it come and pick them up and drive them where they need to go.
Source:
Google Lobbies Nevada to Allow Self-Driving Cars (The New York Times)