Interesting article about the promise of Google's self-driving cars. You've probably heard the stat of them batting 1.000 in terms of road incidents, but what you probably don't know is how they actually work. From the article...
Cruising down Rengstorff at a precise 35 mph, the light turns yellow ahead. We're far enough away that I probably would have stopped. But unlike the car, I don't have perfect awareness of my speed, the distance ahead, and how long the signal has been yellow since I noticed. The car I am in is drawing on a combined 700,000 miles traveled and 40 years of driving history built into its memory, and precise maps of Mountain View's 2,000-plus traffic signals. We sail through the intersection before it turns red.
Maybe I'm a bit biased because I dislike the idea of not being in control of my car, but if I'm being honest, I never foresee us getting to the point where automated cars are the norm. The first death by a robot car overlord and the subsequent lawsuits will end this being a thing. Read the article here.
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