Google has developed a project for unmanned vehicle control. Currently, the Google mobile is being successfully tested on the roads of several American states.
The Google mobile is guided by the road, relying on information provided by the Google Street View resource, video cameras, radars, a LIDAR sensor and a sensor that determines the location of the car on the map. The tests of an unmanned vehicle have been actively carried out since 2010. In May 2012, the use of a Google mobile was legalized on the roads of the state of Nevada, and in September of the same year, the corresponding law was passed in California.
Google equipment can be installed on any car, but officially the Toyota Prius and Lexus RX450h are taking part in the project. As of April 2014, Google cars have covered more than 1 million kilometers in total. Currently, in the summer of 2015, 20 unmanned vehicles controlled by Google technology are successfully driving on the streets of Mountain View, one of the towns of Silicon Valley.
The disadvantage of the system is the inability of Google mobiles to navigate during heavy rain and snow. This is due to the fact that identification of the landscape from pre-shot photos is very difficult when the precipitation changes the area beyond recognition. Google equipment also malfunctioned in recognizing temporary traffic signals. In addition, a Google mobile cannot independently distinguish a policeman from a passer-by, or a stone from crumpled paper on the roadway. Another problem is that the drone cannot park on its own.
Despite the system's flaws, Google cars have proven to be reliable and safe transportation. For the entire time of using Google mobiles, 14 road accidents with their participation were recorded, and only in one of them people were injured. Moreover, the cause of all accidents was cars driven by people.
