Google Driverless Cars Expected In 2 To 5 Years

Google expects driverless cars in another two to five years time. Cars are currently being tested at Google's facility.

Chris Urmson, the head of self-driving cars for Google says these cars will still be test vehicles, while they will still be collecting data about how they will react to other cars on the road and how they will interact with pedestrians.

The American based company is working to develop sensors that will detect road signs and software that will analyze them. Cars without a steering wheel or pedals are currently being tested in a facility at California.

Urmson and Google are still figuring out how the company is going to make money with the driverless cars though. Dates have not been revealed as of when these cars will hit public roads because the company wants the system and the concept to work properly.

Google will face difficulty in testing the cars on public roads because California law says that self driving cars must have a steering wheel and pedals, while other states have no such restrictions for testing autonomous cars in public roads.

The company announced about a prototype that was ready in December itself, which is being tested on the company's test track. The cars will be tested on public roads in Northern California this year with temporary manual controls.

In terms of safety, Google cars have been tested for over 700,000 miles (11.26 lakh km) on public roads without a single crash.