Google said their self-driving car could hit the road later this year in California for testing. Now, they’re already seeking Detroit partnership to help get the cars on the market by 2020.
According to Reuters, Google officials met with top automakers in the world and created a team of “traditional and nontraditional suppliers to speed efforts to bring self-driving cars to market by 2020.”
Of course, the online giant went to the auto manufacturer giants: GM, Ford, Toyota, Daimler, and Volkswagen.
“Chris Urmson, the director of the self-driving vehicle project, said that “for us to jump in and say that we can do this better, that’s arrogant.”
Google still has to decide if they want to build their own self-driving vehicles or if they’ll focus on the software involved in the technology, giving that to certain manufacturers. Google’s prototype was built in Detroit by Roush.
GM is already on board with the project.
Urmson expects that the vehicles will be ready for production within five years. Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla Motors, believes that it may not be until 2022 and 2023 due to unclear federal regulations covering self-driving vehicles. Urmson doesn’t think this will be a problem.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was briefed on the project at the beginning of the program. “The worst thing we could do is surprise them.”
Google says Detroit is more innovated than what people think. Making automobiles is incredibly hard, and a self-driving vehicle is an even bigger challenge.
The prototype we see today may not be what hits the market in half a decade. Urmson says that their project will evolve – just as flying has compared to the Wright Brothers.
Perhaps they’ll reach out to Intel and their RealSense technology, depending on how Google’s current software compares. At CES 2015, Intel demonstrated flying drones installed with the software going through obstacles perfectly. It could be perfect for Google.
As always when it comes to projects like these, only time will tell.
[PhotoCredit: Extremetech, Jebiga]
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Google Wants Detroit Partnership For 2020 Self-Driving Cars
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