Because apparently Google was just waiting for Christmas

Dec 23, 2014 15:20 GMT  ·  By

This question, or a variation of it, will probably be on the lips of many people now that Google has finally announced the completion of the driverless car, whose shape humorously similar to an inflated bean is irrelevant and will not be brought up outside this sentence.

Self-driving cars, after decades upon decades of false starts and dashed hopes, however small those hopes may or may not have been, have finally become a thing.

It's pretty clear that Google was waiting for Christmas to roll around before it finally brought out this wonder of technology.

It does beg the question of whether or not the things will sell as well as the company appears to hope. There have been a lot of arguments brought to bear against their use. Some may say more than supporting ones.

The pros

It's self-driving, obviously. Not only does this mean that you can busy yourself with last-minute preparations or somesuch, but it also implies that you don't need to get a permit for them.

Well, relevant authorities will probably need buyers to fill some conditions, like being of age and not mentally challenged. But you won't need a driver's license if you won't be driving.

It will also make the issue of drinking behind the wheel rather moot, however unlikely it is for cops to just leave it at that if they pull you over.

Another thing is that not all self-driving cars need be similar in looks and build as the one in the attached picture.

After all, if Google was able (indeed, it needed) to install the system in normal cars like Toyota Prius and Audi TT, then you could probably retrofit your existing car with the LiDAR-based intelligence as well. That or buy a Camaro with one pre-installed.

The cons

The things are expensive. Just the one prototype costs around $150,000 / €123,000, out of which the LiDAR guidance system accounts for around half. Velodyne 64-beam laser rangefinder mounted on the top isn't cheap.

A second issue that some brought up was that self-driving cars basically defeat the whole purpose of learning to drive. It's like a rite of passage for many, and an activity people tend to enjoy.

More important, however, is, in my opinion, the issue of trust: would you trust an AI to get you safely across town? Or across country?

Would you entrust it with the lives of your friends and family? That's the million dollar question.

So, will you buy a self-driving car next year or will you not?

Because that's when you can expect the first ones to be put up for order. Or maybe two years from now or so. Either way, now might be a good time to start mulling the issue over. We're making abstraction, of course, of how few states even allow for driverless cars to be tested.

If nothing else, people who for whatever reason don't have a driver's license will have a way to “drive” somewhere once retail availability rolls around.

What remains to be seen is if the concept spreads to fossil fuel-based cars quickly enough or if it stays on purely electrical models for the first few years.

Google self-driving car debuts (4 Images)

Google's self-driving car
Lexus RX450h retrofittedToyota Prius modified to be driverless
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