Google Seeking Automaker for Autonomous Vehicle Production
Internet giant Google has been developing self-driving car technology for some time now, and is looking for a partner in the automotive industry to help the company mass-produce its cars.
Anthony Levandowski, project manager for Google’s self-driving cars, and he was in Detroit this week giving a speech to automotive engineers at the SAE World Congress exhibition.
Google has been developing the technology that will drive the car, but the company isn’t capable of building it’s own cars to house its system, so Levandowski is pitching the tech to automakers with the intent to retrofit an existing car line with the self-drive technology.
A video recently released by Google demonstrated the value of its self-driving research by showing an autonomous vehicle chauffeuring a legally blind man, without incident.
One of the major barriers still in the way of self-driving cars is insurance liability, and whether the fault falls on the developer of the tech or the person behind the wheel in the case of an accident. Google is also in talks with major insurance companies to work these issues out.
It is unclear as to which company may adopt the technology from Google, who currently use Toyota Prius Hybrids as test mules. General Motors is working on a driverless system of its own, so you can count them out of the deal.
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
More by Stephen Elmer
Comments
Join the conversation