With the future upon us, more and more companies have sought to join the fast-paced changes the world is going through. In contrast to the popular Tesla, Google's self-driving car is literally that - it is built in such a way that humans need only to get in and let the car do all the driving.
According to Gizmodo, in a monthly report on the progress of the self-driving car, Google disclosed of an accident that ended with the operator landing in the hospital. Reportedly, the self-driving car was running at 22 mph on a green light when a non-autonomous van came speeding at 30 mph. On top of that, the commercial van was running a red light resulting to t-bone accident.
The report enunciated that Google's self-driving car was not at fault. The operator escaped the accident with no injuries but volunteered to go to the hospital only to be released after being checked by the medical staff.
Coincidentally, the accident happened on El Carmino Road, California - the same place where their first accident happened.
Google has yet to determine if the accidents were caused solely by the reckless driver or there's something about the area that the self-driving car's software can't seem to get right. Regardless of the cause, Google barrels on to more research to make sure that it is perfectly safe for people to use.
While waiting for the release of the self-driving car, here are a few things to know about how Google's self-driving car functions and how far it has gone:
1. The self-driving car has no steering wheel and pedals. It has backup systems that will allow the riders to override the software should they foresee something the car's software could not. But generally, it is designed in such a way that there is virtually no need for a driver.
2. It can tell its surroundings purely through software and sensors. It's adorable, circular shape was designed to help the sensors pick up more of the environment. It can also tell what that something on the road is based on their movements, size, and shape.
3. It has the tendency to run a little above the speed limit as a result of Google's research that found that it's significantly safe for drivers.
4. Google made the self-driving car in an effort to reduce the space occupied by too many cars, ease traffic, and lessen the amount of accidents experienced in a day.
5. Google allows you to choose what design you want on the car to make it more personalized. It's one of the main reasons why it's white.
