Photo: Google
Apparently, the giant American company Google has had no less than five meetings with representatives of the UK government in the last two years, where they have discussed chances for driverless cars to hit the British market.
According to some information made available under the Freedom of Information Act, Google believes the UK is a key market where they can implement their driverless cars, currently being tested in California.
Since 2012, these cars of the future have traveled more than 1 million miles on public roads. It is all possible thanks to the LIDAR sensor Google cars are fitted with. This innovative system that uses laser technology is able to spot pedestrians and other traffic. If you’re rushing to your local dealership to buy such a thing, find out that it will be available to the public only in 2020.
The British Government seems to be into this new trend because it invested millions of pounds in driverless car research and also promised it would change the law to encourage the use of this new technology on the island.
Despite the fact that accident figures will diminish, specialists are saying this type of cars will also have some downsides. One is linked to the insurance matter. Because the human factor will not be involved in the driving process, this being done by computers, the manufacturers will be most likely held responsible.
According to The Telegraph, important figures from Google attended these meetings, such as Chris Urmson, head of self-driving cars project, or Jennifer Haroon, the head of business, and they discussed the topic of autonomous vehicles with representatives from various government departments.
Although large parts of the documents have been revealed, some remained hidden from the public eye, in order to protect the commercial interests. Among these, the explicit statement that Google plans to test its driverless cars in the UK.
The Bank of England was also involved in this process and has stated that these cars will have a great impact on the insurance industry, and that they are currently doing some research in this sector. According to the Department for Transport officials, the money will be invested in this area because the driverless cars will bring great benefits to society, economy and also road safety.
Since 2012, these cars of the future have traveled more than 1 million miles on public roads. It is all possible thanks to the LIDAR sensor Google cars are fitted with. This innovative system that uses laser technology is able to spot pedestrians and other traffic. If you’re rushing to your local dealership to buy such a thing, find out that it will be available to the public only in 2020.
The British Government seems to be into this new trend because it invested millions of pounds in driverless car research and also promised it would change the law to encourage the use of this new technology on the island.
Despite the fact that accident figures will diminish, specialists are saying this type of cars will also have some downsides. One is linked to the insurance matter. Because the human factor will not be involved in the driving process, this being done by computers, the manufacturers will be most likely held responsible.
According to The Telegraph, important figures from Google attended these meetings, such as Chris Urmson, head of self-driving cars project, or Jennifer Haroon, the head of business, and they discussed the topic of autonomous vehicles with representatives from various government departments.
Although large parts of the documents have been revealed, some remained hidden from the public eye, in order to protect the commercial interests. Among these, the explicit statement that Google plans to test its driverless cars in the UK.
The Bank of England was also involved in this process and has stated that these cars will have a great impact on the insurance industry, and that they are currently doing some research in this sector. According to the Department for Transport officials, the money will be invested in this area because the driverless cars will bring great benefits to society, economy and also road safety.
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