Self Driving Cars May Be Closer Than You Think

For some time now, human beings have wished to control everyday devices via autonomous robotic technology. Whether it’s a Roomba® vacuum cleaner that automatically keeps your house neat or simply a DVR which, when programmed, will record your favorite shows, people seemingly clamor for technology that takes the work out of activities. Although dreamed about for years, until recently automated driving was a thing for science-fiction novels. It seems now, more than ever, the chances of owning a fully functional self-driving car have skyrocketed thanks to the nearly constant innovation from companies like Google and Volkswagen.

Über-company Google has been working on self-driving cars as side project for quite awhile and have now begun to use these cars in everyday situations. Though Google has been developing the technology in California, they have moved operations to nearby Nevada due to fact that the state has become the first to allow drivers to operate autonomous vehicles. After significant lobbying from Google, the bill passed with only a small portion of opposing votes.

In Mountain View, California, Google had taken the self-driving cars on 140,000 miles of robot-controlled test drives but decided to make the switch to Nevada based on the states physical geography and penchant for innovative business growth. Some like lobbyist David Goldwater, think that Google’s strategic move will be highly successful.

“Nevada offers very good geographic opportunities, and the pro-business environment both from a tax and regulatory standpoint offered an opportunity to show what autonomous vehicles can do,” stated Goldwater, who lobbied Google’s cause but says he is not a spokesman for the company.

While the search engine giant has been forging ahead of the game in self-driving vehicles, Google is certainly not the only company making strides to make our cars drive themselves. On June 21st, Volkswagen presented its Temporary Auto Pilot or TAP system at the European Union’s research project HAVEit (Highly Automated Vehicles for Intelligent Transport). Like the name states, TAP still requires vehicle operators to drive and is quite different than Google’s fully automated driving function. In an attempt to assist drivers when facing dangerous situations, Volkswagen has bundled lane-change-assist, adaptive cruise control, and other semi-automatic utilities into TAP to make driving safer.

For those paranoid about having a computer assist with driving operation, the system may be disabled at any time. Volkswagen claims that the purpose of the auto-pilot is to “prevent accidents due to driving errors by an inattentive, distracted driver. The German auto manufacturer says that the TAP system will be active when driving at speeds of up 130 kilometers per hour (80 mph).

Based on the progress of both projects, it is not absurd to think that you may be sitting in an automated auto sooner rather than later. With safety and efficiency as top priorities innovators hope to change the driving experience for better.