Posted on Thursday, March 29 2012 @ 21:21 CEST by Thomas De MaesschalckGoogle this week posted a YouTube video (below) showing Morgan Hill, Calif. resident Steve Mahan, who is legally blind, being taken on a ride in its self-driving Toyota Prius. Google released the video to celebrate that it has safely completed 200,000 miles of computer-lead driving.
The video shows Mahan sitting in the driver's seat as the car steers itself, using radar and lasers to make sure the road is clear. The car takes him through the drive-through of Taco Bell, then to the dry cleaners as Mahan jokes that "this is some of the best driving I've ever done."
The search giant reports its self-driving car project has now completed over 200,000 miles of computer-led driving:
We announced our self-driving car project in 2010 to make driving safer, more enjoyable, and more efficient. Having safely completed over 200,000 miles of computer-led driving, we wanted to share one of our favorite moments. Here's Steve, who joined us for a special drive on a carefully programmed route to experience being behind the wheel in a whole new way. We organized this test as a technical experiment, but we think it's also a promising look at what autonomous technology may one day deliver if rigorous technology and safety standards can be met.
