Google Self-Driving Cars To Hit The Road
By Edward Cardenas
SOUTHFIELD (CBS Detroit) - Google announced Friday that it will be taking its self-driving cars from the test track to the streets of Mountain View this summer.
The tech giant's safety drivers will test the bubble-like prototype vehicles built by Livonia-based Roush Enterprises on the streets of company's hometown in California.
"We've been running the vehicles through rigorous testing at our test facilities, and ensuring our software and sensors work as they're supposed to on this new vehicle," Google wrote in a blog post. "The new prototypes will drive with the same software that our existing fleet of self-driving Lexus RX450h SUVs uses."
Each prototype that will hit the streets can only reach speeds of 25 mph, and the safety drivers will have vehicles with a removable steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal that will allow them to take over driving if needed, according to Google.
Prior to hitting the road, the company stated its fleet of vehicles have logged nearly a million autonomous miles and has recently been self-driving about 10,000 miles a week.
The goal of this next stage of testing will be to learn how "the community perceives and interacts with the vehicles, and to uncovering challenges that are unique to a fully self-driving vehicle."
Self-driving cars that Google has been tested on California's roads and highways over the past six years have been involved in 11 minor accidents, the company stated.