Google puts a blind man behind the wheel of its self-driving car (video)

[Vehl]

Sometimes it feels all too easy to succumb to cynicism when looking at the cutthroat competition in the tech world, but a new video from Google that demonstrates its self-driving car is more than enough to lead one's heart back to the optimism inherent in human technology. In the video, Google employees pick up Steve Mahan, a man who's lost 95 percent of his vision, and put him behind the wheel — and from the moment the car starts up to a gentle robotic voice that announces "auto driving," it's clear that this ride is going to be unlike any other you've seen. Steve explains how "you lose your timing in life, everything takes you much longer" — "there are some places that you cannot go, there are some things that you really cannot do." But it's clear that for Steve, who's able to order a drive-through burrito and pick up his dry cleaning, that this could be an utterly uplifting technology, and one more imminent than some could have imagined.

Google announced its self-driving car project back in 2010, and since then it says it has safely completed over 200,000 miles of computer-led driving. Others like BMW, Audi, Toyota, and university engineers are working on their own versions of computer-controlled driving systems, too. And with states like Nevada easing into the use of self-driving cars on public roads with recently approved regulations, the concept seems to be gaining legitimate traction in the public eye. Google says that it organized the test as a "technical experiment outside of our core research efforts," but that "it's also a promising look at what this kind of technology may one day deliver for society" — a promise that could one day allow those like Steve to experience the joy of driving, and more importantly, the dignity of self-determination in ways they never thought possible.

link
http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/29/2910196/google-self-driving-car-video

Video

Truly Amazing. This technology is much further along than I thought possible. Opens up a whole new world for the differently abled.


PS: When news about Google's self driving cars leaked to the press in 2010, a lot of "tech journalists" pooh poohed it, claiming that Google should just "focus" on what it does already..and should not invest in such different stuff. However this video clearly shows how wrong they were. Imagine a world where the disabled could do much more than they can do now.

Other stuff being worked on at Google's secret X labs include Space elevators (yep! ) and Robots. One does not see other Companies invest in such far-out tech. They all do iterative development of existing tech and call it 'innovative", while Google is one of the very few companies which actually do bleeding edge research on technologies that might or might not bear fruit in the distant future. I mean come on...space elevators! how cool is that

An article about the Google X labs
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/technology/at-google-x-a-top-secret-lab-dreaming-up-the-future.html?pagewanted=all