Google Driverless Car - Essay Example

Google Driverless Car Introduction Google Driverless cars are projected as the self-driving autonomous automobiles, to be produced by Google Incorporation. Designed by Sebastein Thrun, these cars will operate through the Google Chauffeur software, which is expected to help in sufficing twenty-first century demands of eco-friendly products. The car is designed to steer up automatically on the identification of any obstacle on road. It is also planned to be able to regulate the speed and accelerate itself in accordance to its position on the road. To put it simply, the Google driverless car will be an electric car that can stop and go, obeying the traffic rules without the need for manual control. It can escort commuters from the road and drive safely and comfortably. This design of Google is equipped with Google maps and with a sensor for identifying its impact on the environment. Its high-tech equipments will also be adjacent to an artificial intelligence system (Peterson, 2015). The essay intends to discuss the positive and negative attributes of Google driverless car, and likewise, focus on the infrastructural transformations required for launching this car on road. The discussion also intends to anticipate the reactions of consumers to this new technology. Positive and Negative Aspects of the Goggle Driverless Car Google has certainly taken the idea of self-driving car technology to another level. Google driverless car is the smart car of the millennium, which intends to bring a new revolution in the real world. Contextually, autonomous driving system holds the key attribute of Google Driving car that is capable to increase the road network capacity and reduce travel time in return. An interesting feature of this driverless car is that one such automobile can perceive the presence of another car in its surrounding with the help of its artificial intelligence software. Certainly, a major concern to the usability of the car is its safety assurance degree when on the road. Taking this particular factor into consideration, the software installed in the car tends to ensure safety for the commuters travelling, which has further widened the scope for new ideas and ongoing experimentations in the field (Thierer & Hagemann, 2014). For instance, the Google driverless system can retrieve information collected from Google street view by means of artificial intelligence software. Artificial Intelligence software then merges the inputs from the information availed through video cameras installed inside the car, its light detection mechanism and the ranging sensor equipment featured on top of the vehicle. Radar sensors are also present on the front of the vehicle and on its rear wheels’ position as well, to facilitate the cars positioning through an automated process (Araujo, Mason & Spring, 2012). The advantages of a driverless car can be numerous. Arguably in this context, it can be expected that the absence of human error will result in a safer journey. Autonomous sensor present in the self-driving car may also enable the automobiles to align close together, hence allowing more cars on the road and thereby, reducing traffic issues. In the current phenomenon, parking a car is a significant problem in public places wherein self-driving car requires lesser space, resolving the issue to a substantial extent (The New York Times Company, 2015). If observed from a contradictory point of view, Google’s driverless cars may also have many disadvantages attached with it, besides the mentioned advantages. At the onset, the self-driving cars are likely to be very expensive and therefore, might not be affordable by common people, widening social paradoxes further. People who are less acquainted to self-driving cars may also not approach this technology owing to the many inhibitions and skepticisms related to the invention. Critics have also been of the view that these cars will always be at the risk of computer failures or software malfunctioning, making emergency manual driving facilities crucial (Boyce, 2011). In addition, the targeted customer group for this vehicle is also likely to be limited among tech-savvy customers, further inhibiting its prospects to gain competitive advantages in the commercial automobile market. Acceptance of the Self-Driving Car Technology by the People Google is likely to launch its self-driving car by 2017 with Google’s engineer Sebastein Thrun as the head of the project. According to the sources of Google, this project will gain considerable benefit if launched successfully and may direct a new dimension in the history of automobile engineering. Notably, the world has been bearing this dream from past seventy years, which is undoubtedly a revolutionary approach when evaluated on the basis of its scientific and engineering value. However, acceptability of self-driving vehicle has been a major point of debate in the technology sector, since it was first thought of. It has been perhaps under the provocation of these criticisms that the hype surrounding the project is raising several questions for its initiator. Nevertheless, Google experts are of the view that their driverless car is going to hit the road by its latest technology even though the acceptability question lies for developing countries, restricting the affordability of potentials customers from those markets (DHL trend Research, 2014). A critical view to the concept further illustrates that a self-driving car may be considered as leap to the next stage of automobile engineering, but it may not prove as revolutionary as expected by the Google team. People with lesser computer knowledge may not find it apt for their daily uses. However, technology comes up with innovation and gradually is accepted by the mass, as has been witnessed in many past inventions, such as the airplane, computers, and cellular devices among others. It can also be argued that well-acknowledged people about self-driven cars may bear fascination for it. However, they may not purchase those because of cost effectiveness. Self-driven cars will also be highly expensive in its launch wherein only the privileged people will get the benefit (Araujo, Mason & King, 2012). Keeping these debatable information in mind, to determine the acceptability of self-driven cars, a survey was conducted through Survey Monkey. A questionnaire was thus developed to seek response from people about autonomous vehicle. The survey was conducted in Britain, the US and Australia through which, a majority of the people responded positively for the self-driven car. However, the acceptance varied from country to country, where consumers from less developed countries mostly reacted negatively to the autonomous vehicles, showing considerable skepticism to its factuality. Thus, there were two contradictory views obtained regarding the self-driven autonomous vehicle, where one view indicated that it will aid to keep green environment but on the contrary, it will lay greater risk for an economic challenge in the developing countries (Schoettle & Sivak, 2014). Infrastructural Changes required for Google’s Self Driving Car Self driven cars may be regarded as a revolutionary invention of the new age wherein the driving technology invoked in the car is highly autonomous and incorporates mostly all the features of artificial intelligence. Google aspired for this venture to manufacture self-driving cars and will certainly meet the aspirations of the new generation. To be noted in lieu, the means for developing this kind of technology are many. It is in this context that the aspect of the technology can foresee how the traditionally supported manufacturing companies are undergoing changes to fetch the demand of the present and future generations. For the purpose of self-driving autonomous technology, it is therefore essential that self-driving cars must understand the environment in which, it is driving (Yeomans, 2014). For instance, if a traffic circle can route more vehicles each hour with self-driving cars than with driving cars, they may not need to transform the traffic structure. Though transit travelers can be dropped to the station in a self-driving car, parking may not be required, as the car will drive it back home. Infrastructural planners must however think about how to transform the infrastructure for these intended self-driven cars. They have to relate to the public issues and the impacts going to take place, with further requirements to inspect travel-forecasting equipments, found on recent patterns of car ownership and its utilizations, required to evaluate and be familiarized to new statistical links between population, car possession, car-sharing, and travel patterns (Bottigheimer, 2014). The self-driving car engineers also need to think about different parking attributes of the car. Infrastructural planner must also inspect the issue and design the roads, highways and transit places in the most effective manner. The government must therefore look after the operations, as to how the self-driven cars are going to revolutionize the market for traditional communication vehicles. Contextually, the government has to route its budget based on the demand of its self-driven car technology (Bottigheimer, 2014). Conclusion Google Driverless car is the dream of the new edge. In the smart world, the present generation demands for smart technologies. Self-driven car is often attributed to the dream of people who are truly fascinated to the car and are tech-savvy in nature. Irrespective of all the skepticisms and the debates surrounding the innovation, this technology is definitely going to aid the people not only in reducing their costs to fuel expenditures but also in terms of traffic issues. Conclusively, it can be stated that Google’s autonomous car will not only bear the attribute of self-driving technology but will also incorporate with the advanced version of artificial intelligence. People’s response to this technology will thus be highly considered, as this new technology will be fresh to the world. References Araujo, L., Mason, K. & Spring, K. (2012). Self-driving cars: A case study in making new markets. Retrieved from http://www.biginnovationcentre.com/Publications Bottigheimer, N. (2014). Self-driving cars are coming, and they could change everything we know about cities. Retrieved from http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/21491/self-driving-cars-are-coming-and-they-could-change-everything-we-know-about-cities/ Boyce, L. (2011). The average worker wastes five weeks a year commuting. Retrieved from http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2061409/The-average-worker-spends-weeks-year-commuting-statistics-reveal.html DHL Trend Research. (2014). Self-Driving vehicles in logistics. Troisdorf: DHL Consumer Solutions. Peterson, A. (2015). Google’s adorable, pod-like driverless cars will hit public roads this summer — but with ‘safety drivers’ on board. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/05/15/googles-adorable-pod-like-driverless-cars-will-hit-public-roads-this-summer-but-with-safety-drivers-on-board/ Schoettle, B. & Sivak, M. (2014). A survey of public opinion about autonomous and Self-Driving Vehiclesin the U.S., The U.K., And Australia. Retrieved from http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/108384/103024.pdf Thierer, A. & Hagemann, R. (2014). Removing roadblocks to intelligent vehicles and Driverless cars. Retrieved from http://mercatus.org/sites/default/files/Thierer-Intelligent-Vehicles.pdf The New York Times Company. (2015). Economy. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/business/economy/29view.html?_r=0 Yeomans, G. (2014). Autonomous vehicles. Retrieved from https://www.lloyds.com/~/media/lloyds/reports/emerging%20risk%20reports/autonomous%20vehicles%20final.pdf Read More