Self-Driving Cars: Where Are We At?

Some inventions from science fiction
movies are now a reality, with
improvements!
But what about self-driving cars?
SOURCE: SMITHSONIAN MAG ,
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HOW TO GEEK
The cell phones we carry in this age are
far more powerful than Star Trek’s
communicators. Our computers are
talking to us with far more acuity than
HAL from the first real sci-fi movie, 2001
a Space Odyssey . And we can Skype with
our friends halfway around the
world….even further than Jane Jetson!
Will Hollywood’s self-driving cars turn out
even better than we could have imagined?
After doing the research for this article, I
have to think so. Take a look at the
latest, most credible, video-shares I could
find on this foreseeable innovation.
(I should mention that there are countless
self-driving car videos on the web, but
most are made by companies I can’t
verify as credible, or too old to be
relevant; so in terms of your time spent
here today, I’m confident I found the best
information for us.)
The following four videos will bring you up
to speed (pun intended) on the future of
self-driving cars.
First up, a great overview from March 17,
2015, from Protin Pictures done for TIME
Magazine:
Via: Protin Pictures
So the safety issues with self-driving cars
seem to be the major driver behind the
relatively slow nature of this innovation.
(Another pun. I couldn’t help
myself.)  However, I wonder if the slow
process is, in fact, the biggest positive of
this invention. I, personally, know many
people who await the self-driving car for
the “advantage” of more time on their cell
phone.
While some already are taking that liberty
(yikes!), I’m not sure that’s what the
earliest thought leaders were aiming for
with self-driving cars. Most imagined a
safer roadway, and more time to actually
connect with each other as passengers.
Take a look at this next piece with Chris
Urmson, the director of Google’s Self-
Driving Cars Project, explaining the
program’s future possibilities:
Via: Google Self-Driving Car Project
OK… now that we know the history,
motivation and possible contributions of
the self-driving car, how does it actually
work?