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Google's Self Driving Prius Takes on Autocross Course [Videos]

1649 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  much2green

In Google's continued search for worldwide domination, they have been working on an autonomous Toyota Prius that made quite the headlines last year.

The software development company has gone from search engine success to smartphone success to now proving that they too can push the envelope on technology in general. Having already impacted daily lives with their tools, it'll be no surprise if Google is the first one to successfully market a self-driving vehicle to the world.

Having logged over 140,000 miles on California's public roads, Google decided it was time to prove that it can do more than just drive its way through California traffic. To do so they setup a tight autocross course with cones, grabbed a few cameras and recorded the magic as it happened.

And just how far away is the technology? Well, it might not be as close to market as anticipated, but Google is certainly making strides to make the dream a reality. Currently all the miles logged were with a driver in the seat just in case, but the vehicle is fully equipped with tons of hardware from cameras to lasers and radars and GPS-equipped tools in order to navigate its surroundings safely. We certainly wouldn't mind having the option of having a vehicle drive itself through our daily routines, but at the end of the day we're automotive enthusiasts because we enjoy the thrill of driving.

Check out the videos after the jump.

More: Google's Self Driving Prius Takes on Autocross Course [Videos] on AutoGuide.com
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This self driving vehicle technology is amazing but as cool as it looks, i bet there can be a lot of situations it will run into that will make the system fail or do something it's not suppose to. I would stay far away from a system like that for a while until it's been tested like crazy.

Imagine if the system has a glitch or something with the computer system messed up and it self drives it's self into a ditch, not cool.



That is by far one of the coolest things I've seen.

IF the computer mis-judged something possible a wet spot or maybe a loss in traction during one of the runs, or the tiers over heat and etc. or mis-calculates you'd be screwed?

Wonder if it'd do better than a real autocross driver... maybe one day!
as cool as it is i would still be scared shiettless sitting in it , i don't know if i would ever put that much trust into an automated driving system
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