[fcb-l] Google testing cars that drive themselves!

[Kirk]

Chip, true, but if we were to work with them with our techno geeks,  perhaps 
they could learn a way to modify them for us to use. I know the NFB has been 
working on a self driven car for some  time now
   and making some great strides in our favor. So, I believe if our blind 
community could find a way to work with google on this vehicle, it could be 
modified for us in the near future! Your friend in the cause, Kirk-----  
Original Message ----- 
  From: Chip Orange
  To: fcb-l at acb.org
  Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 8:03 PM
  Subject: Re: [fcb-l] Google testing cars that drive themselves!


  unfortunately, google says they never forsee a time when the cars would be 
allowed to drive themselves, but only to operate like a cruise control, 
giving a rest to a driver behind the wheel.  they expect that's how they'll 
be allowed to operate.

  Chip




------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: fcb-l-bounces at acb.org [mailto:fcb-l-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of 
Kirk
  Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 4:30 PM
  To: NFB of Florida Listserv
  Cc: fcb-l at acb.org
  Subject: [fcb-l] Google testing cars that drive themselves!


  HI all, I found this testing quite interesting for the potential future 
for our blinded citizens in the future! If only we could get our 
independence with this type of technology, just think what we could do 
again! Your friend in the cause, Kirk Google is testing cars that drive 
themselves  Google announced Sunday
     that it has developed cars that drive themselves
  automatically in traffic, and that it has been testing them on the
  streets of California for months. It might seem like an unusual project
  for Google, but it  could actually have big benefits.
   We're not just talking about cars running Google Android.
  This is the stuff of science fiction. The only accident that has
  occurred so far: One of the cars was rear-ended by a driver at a stop
  light. Human error!

  The vehicles have been tested on 140,000 miles of California road, from
  Silicon Valley to Santa Monica.

  Each car is manned during the tests. One person sits in the driver's
  seat, ready to take control of the vehicle instantly by grabbing the
  wheel or touch the brake should something go wrong with the system. The 
person in the
  passenger's seat is an engineer who monitors the software operations on a
  computer.

  Google (Google) hired engineers who previously participated in
  competitions and races involving automated cars -- important turning
  points in the development of the technology, which has been coming into 
its own since around 2005 according to The New York Times.

  If your first concern is one of safety, Google would argue that you're
  going about it all wrong.

  Safety is one of the the project's purposes. Google believes that the
  technology could nearly half the number of automobile-related deaths
  because computers are supposedly
  better  at driving than humans in the right circumstances.

  There are other hypothetical pluses, too. The vehicles' instant reaction
  time and 360-degree awareness would allow them to drive closer together
  on the highway than humans can, reducing traffic congestion. They could be 
more
  careful when operating the gas, reducing fuel consumption.

  But the biggest benefit for Google would be the hour or so of daily
  commute time the car owner would save. Instead of driving, he or she
  could either be productive or entertained in the vehicle, doing work on a 
wireless
  Internet (Internet) connection or watching television.

  Google doesn't say it explicitly, but TechCrunch was
  quick to note that this time could be spent using Google products and 
absorbing
   Google-run advertising.

  The most optimistic projections put this technology at least eight years
  away from market, though. Legal hassles are among the myriad problems;
  all of the current traffic laws assume that a human driver is present in 
the vehicle


  Kirk Harmon
  President & CEO
  Florida Disabled Citizens
  for Progress
  P.O.Box 61794
  Jacksonville, FL 32236
  PH(904) 783-9896
  Cell: (407) 473-2176
  DAV/BVA
  Life Member

  " TURNING HOPE INTO REALITY"



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