Google continues autonomous car tests [w/video]

Google is leading the charge towards the production of a fully autonomous car, releasing a video earlier this week of the car being tested on a programmed route.

Steve Mahan, who is 95 per cent blind, successfully tested the car with Google engineers and a member of the local police close at hand should something go awry.

Google kitted out a Toyota Prius with its software, taking the shape of a spinning cylinder on the car's roof, which senses traffic or activity close to the car and automatically adapts to its situation.

A post-test statement from Google said, "There's much left to design and test, but we have now safely completed more than 200,000 miles of computer-led driving, gathering great experiences and an overwhelming number of enthusiastic supporters."

Google is not the only company to be developing their own models of semi- and fully-autonomous cars.

In February, Ford's Executive Chairman Bill Ford spoke at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, about the need to develop connected cars sooner rather than later to combat growing congestion on the world's roads.

At January's Consumer Electrics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its latest gesture-controlled interface technology in the form of its ‘DICE' (Dynamic and Intuitive Control Experience) sculpture.

This system, which uses a central hub to connect social media technology, infotainment, navigation and other systems, is developed and ready for use - but with DICE using hands-free technology, it can only be installed when cars become fully autonomous, essentially meaning that autonomous technology has to play catch up.

BMW and Audi have also declared that they have started work on developing software that will serve to reduce overall traffic congestion.

In May, the latest Cadillac XTS is set to include sensors, cameras and radar that will provide the car with all the information it needs to avoid crashes and aid in parking and the like.

GM has also announced its intention to provide its customers with semiautonomous cars by 2015 and then fully autonomous cars by the year 2020.

By Rufus Thompson