Google's driverless car will hit public roads this summer - prototype cruises without a peddle
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Cutesy robo-car prototypes have the equivalent of 75 years' driving experience says company
The cars will have safety drivers aboard in case anything goes wrong - but Google's confident that the extensive testing means accidents won't be on the cards.
"The new prototypes will drive with the same software that our existing fleet of self-driving Lexus RX450h SUVs uses. That fleet has logged nearly a million autonomous miles on the roads since we started the project, and recently has been self-driving about 10,000 miles a week," said Chris Urmson, director of the Google self-driving car project.
"So the new prototypes already have lots of experience to draw on - in fact, it’s the equivalent of about 75 years of typical American adult driving experience," he said.
The little bubble cars have a speed cap of 25mph and dispense with traditional driving tools such as a steering wheel and pedals.
Google reckons its autonomous cars could reduce the 94 per cent of car accidents it says are caused by human error. It has previously admitted its robo-cars have been involved in 11 accidents on the roads but blamed them on useless human drivers.
Over here in the UK, the government has already launched its first trials of self-driving cars.
The average driver in England spends 235 hours driving every year - the equivalent of six working weeks.
The new technology will mean drivers will be able to choose whether they want to be in control or hand the task of driving over to the vehicle itself.
But those involved in the project have admitted it's early days - so we won't be seeing robotic cars cruising down the M1 for many years yet.
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