Google announced its self-driving car prototype late last year. Although the vehicle had extensive testing on closed roads and test tracks, the vehicle had yet to make its way to public roads. Today, Google has announced that the self-driving prototype will start hitting the public roads of California this summer.
Naturally, you won"t see Google"s prototype in crowded cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco, but it will make its way to the public and familiar roads of Mountain View, California. For the initial rollout, each vehicle will be manned with a driver. The drivers will be present to make sure that each vehicle is operating properly. The self-driving vehicles will be equipped with a removable steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedals to comply with California laws. For its initial drive, the prototype will travel at a safe 25 miles per hour. While this is not a perfect real-world scenario, Google has advanced one step closer to being able to possibly introduce these to consumers in the future.
Although we are most likely years away from having self-driving vehicles out on public roads, one thing is for certain, Google has come a long way since first introducing these vehicles to the public.
Source: Google