California Mulls Driverless Cars

Google's driverless car
(photo: Edmunds Inside Line)

In December, 2011, I blogged about Google's submitting a patent request for a driverless car. The Mountain Valley company has moved forward with this intriguing project. Siliconvalley.com recently reported that California's Department of Motor Vehicles held a "workshop" to gather comment from those interested on the topic. Some of the "interested" included Detroit automakers, Google, and citizens who don't have a financial stake in the driverless car concept.

Insurance issues remain quite a sticky wicket for the car without driver. Some other concerns arise, such as how these vehicles would respond in challenging weather conditions. Notably, one senior citizen who attended the event thought the driverless car was a wonderful idea. He cited seniors' diminished eyesight and slower reflexes as two reasons in favor of the car.

This leads me to wonder whether driver's licenses would include a separate class for "driverless." Would those over a certain age be restricted to operating only driverless vehicles? What about drivers under 18 years of age? They're among the highest insurance risk categories? Would they also be limited to operating a driverless car?

Google Awarded Patent for Self-Driving Car

Google's "driverless car": Photo from Edmunds Inside Line

Just when you thought you've understood Google's drive for innovation, the sly foxes from Mountain View come out with a surprise. Their most recent endeavor involves a self-driving automobile. According to an online BBC report, the US Patent Office has given Google a patent for just such a vehicle. The invention is hardly a bolt from the blue, as Google has been experimenting with this idea for a number of years. "The vehicles," the BBC story notes, "combine artificial intelligence with the firm's Google Street View maps as well as video cameras and a range of sensors."

Google, however, has not yet invented a self-paying vehicle.