Come summer, Google's self-driving cars will be finally hitting the public roads near Mountain View, California.
A year after Google announced its prototype self-driving car, a few models of Google's autonomous cars will be transiting to the next phase of . testing on Californian roads.
"This summer, a few of the prototype vehicles we've created will leave the test track and hit the familiar roads of Mountain View, Calif., with our safety drivers aboard," revealed Google in a blog post.
This testing phase will see the autonomous cars with removable steering wheels, brake pedals and accelerator go through the same rigors which Google's modified Lexus RX450h SUVs underwent. Google also asserted that the software used by its existing self-driving Lexus RX450h SUVs is the same as the one for its new prototypes.
The company added that safety drivers will be aboard the vehicles. The test cars will also be limited to 25mph.
The prototype cars have reportedly notched up "nearly a million autonomous miles" on the test tracks. Moreover, the cars have been driving nearly 10,000 miles on their own every week. This is equivalent to 75 years of adult driving experience per Google.
The testing will not only enable to perceive human reactions, but also assess the ability of the cars to tackle traffic snarls and other traffic conditions. The self-piloted prototypes will also have a safe speed limit of a maximum 25 miles per hour. The car will also have a safety driver on board (with a steering wheel, brake and an accelerator pedals at their disposal) who can take over in the event of an emergency.
Google also divulged that it would like to host pilot small scale pilot programs with its prototypes in the near future. This process would help the company in learning what people would "like to do with vehicles like this."
Check out the Google self-driving car in action in the video below.
