Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is bringing its self-driving vehicles to Texas. The company made the announcement on its Google+ page where it announced that it had selected Texas as the test location or its autonomous vehicle project.
The idea of autonomous vehicles has been in existence for many years but coming to reality is not something that many people thought would happen soon. However, the Masterminds at Google have yet again brought science fiction into reality, and it is quite exciting.
In the Google+ statement, the company revealed that one of the company’s vehicles is already there. The company is using Lexus SUVs for the project. To enhance security, the vehicles will have safety drivers riding along. The safety drivers are also important for actual feedback from the experience. The test drives will cover a few miles North and Northeast of Downtown Austin. The statement also quoted the importance of testing out the software in different environments to identify driving patterns and response to road conditions. Austin is, therefore, an ideal location.
One of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s spokespersons revealed that the company has tested the feature in other cities over the past. The Texas test is the first that the company is trying it in a city Outside Mountain View for an extended duration of time. Texas officials were happy to usher in the project like they did previously for the company’s offices as well as Google fiber rollouts.
Joe Weber, Executive Director of the Texas Department of Transportation, stated that the successful integration of autonomous vehicles into current and future transportation networks could be one of the key drivers towards achieving safer and more reliable transportation. Austin’s mayor, Steve Adler was also happy to usher in the autonomous vehicle project. He described his city as important partly because the people are always ready to welcome new technology that could have a significant positive impact in their lives.
Texas residents may not be so positive about self-driving vehicles. People generally have little faith in unmanned technology. In this case, finding an autonomous vehicle in traffic is not something they might look forward to.
