To GOOGLE is now in broad usage as a verb for getting information from the Internet. If the tech giant has its way, "I Googled" will become a standard reply to the question "How did you get here? On May 28th Ogle said it would build 100 driverless cars. It is the next stage in its apparent pursuit to he as common on the road as on computer screens.
People have dreamed about driverless monitoring since at least the 1930s, but only in recent years have carmakers such as Mervedes-Benz and Volvo given the matter more thought, equipping test cars with the sensors(传感器)and complicated software required to pass through busy roads. Google has roared ahead by designing a driverless car from the ground up.
But bringing autonomous monitoring to the world is proving harder than Google had imagined. It once promised it by 2017. Now it does not see production models coming out before 2020. The technology is far advanced, but needs shrinking in size and cost-Google's current test cars are said to he packed with $ 80,000-worth of equipment.
Google，latest effort may have as much to do with convincing the public and law-makers as improving the technology. The firm stresses the safety advantages of computers being more likely than humans to avoid accidents. The cars will have a top speed of just 25 mph and a front end made of soft foam(泡沫)to cushion careless pedestrians. The benefits could indeed he huge. Driving time could he given over to working, sleeping or browsing the web. However, the issue of liability(问责)in the event of a driverless car crashing has yet to he resolved.
Turning cars into products may not be good news for traditional carmakers. But reinventing motoring as a service fits neatly with Google's plans to become as big in hardware, as in software. And unlike car firms, which talk vaguely of becoming "mobility providers", Google has lots of cash to make that a reality and no worries about disturbing its current business. Goggle admits it still has "lots of work to do". But one day Googling to the shops may he a common activity.
