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Having logged more than 500,000 miles of autonomous driving, the Google self-driving car has captured attention worldwide with its progress and promise for a technology that will transform vehicle travel as we know it. Andrew Chatham, principal software engineer for the Self-Driving Car Project at Google, Inc., captivated an audience at the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) 2014 Technical Conference and Exhibit when he led the plenary session, "Google's Self-Driving Car: What We've Done and What We Need." With his presentation, Chatham gave ITE an inside look at how and why Google has come this far with its self-driving car, and what the company needs to make this technology a reality.
Google and the Toward Zero Deaths Goal
The vision of a world with autonomous vehicles dates back as early as the 1950s, with images of people enjoying leisurely activities while their cars transport them. Self-driving cars were envisioned before the Internet, cellular communications, and smart phones were conceived. So why has Google, a company known best for its Internet search engine and online maps, entered the business of developing a self-driving car? The reason is quite simple, as Chatham told ITE conference attendees. The core of Google's mission and company philosophy is to seek ways to develop technologies that help the world. Recognizing that vehicle fatalities on roadways are a world health issue, Google believes it can make a difference in transportation safety using computer technology. Citing the zero deaths goal for the world's roadways, Chatham noted that the only way to achieve zero deaths is to eliminate the crashes that lead to them. Since most crashes involve human error, Chatham explained that Google seeks to reduce and eliminate crashes by removing humans from the driving equation, putting its creative talents and high tech resources to work on developing self-driving cars that will not be susceptible to behaviors and conditions that lead to crashes, such as speeding, distraction, and poor visibility. The company also believes self-driving cars can deliver life-changing mobility benefits to people who cannot drive themselves due to age or vision impairment.
From DARPA to the Google Self-Driving Car
Attempts at making self-driving cars a reality have included the automated highway system in the 1990s, which moved vehicles autonomously over a roadway...