Earlier this week Google was granted US patent number 8,078,349 for “transitioning a mixed-mode vehicle to autonomous mode”. It’s obviously an important step in the journey to producing a completely autonomous car. Google has been testing driverless cars for some time on public highways in California. According to Google its Toyota Prius and Audi TT test cars have driven over 1,000 miles without causing harm. Of course these test mules have humans in them as backup drivers.
Back in the summer Google was instrumental in getting Nevada to become the first state to officially unveil a bill that will allow driverless cars. Although most states do not have laws specifically banning driverless cars, it is pretty certain police would frown upon a car propelling itself along a highway without a driver.
Google engineers worked closely with engineers from Volkswagen’s ERL (Electronic Research Laboratory) and nearby Stanford University in developing Stanley and Junior – the VW Touareg and Jetta that successfully completed in the DARPA Challenges for autonomous vehicles back in 2005 and 2007, respectively.
Recently VW unveiled a near-production-ready concept “Temporary Auto Pilot” (TAP) Jetta that can drive itself semi-automatically at speeds up to 80 mph on freeways. The TAP car essentially bundles already existing technologies, such as adaptive cruise control and lane-assist warning systems, so the car can be driven hands-free. VW sees this as an interim step before fully autonomous cars are perfected.
Initially VW says a TAP Jetta could drive itself on congested freeways. However, the driver would still retain responsibility and would always be able to intervene in safety-critical situations.
The Google patent takes this a step further as it allows the car to take full control in limited areas such as in a rental car parking lot or in an urban environment where there are clearly marked locations for the car to get a fix on. In the patent Google describes a scenario where a car could drive tourists around Millennium Park in Chicago stopping at selected attractions on the way.
If Google has its way the autonomous car will be here sooner than we think — Google a destination and a Google-engineered car will be able to take you there with little intervention.
Are you ready for a car that can drive itself?
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