- Google has notched another important milestone — the granting of a U.S. patent — in its march to develop autonomous cars.
- The tech giant applied in May for a patent for "Transitioning a Mixed-mode Vehicle to Autonomous Mode."
- The application was approved this week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Tech giant Google has notched another important milestone — the granting of a U.S. patent — in its march to develop autonomous cars.
In May, Google applied for a U.S. patent for "Transitioning a mixed-mode vehicle to autonomous mode." In its application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Google said its process covers "methods and devices for transitioning a mixed-mode autonomous vehicle from a human driven mode to an autonomously driven mode."
The USPTO granted the patent this week.
Google announced the driverless-car project in October 2010. At the time, it said the technology was being tested on a fleet of Toyota Priuses and an Audi TT.
In May, Google said it was lobbying Nevada to support legalization of driverless cars. The state passed such legislation in June.
Google has been testing a variety of technologies that would help enable autonomous driving, including radar, video cameras and lasers.
In its patent application, the company described a process in which a specially equipped car would identify a "landing strip" where the driver would stop the vehicle and hand over control to an onboard computer that would receive directions and driving instructions by QR code or wireless link.
Inside Line says: Title this driverless scenario "Kicking and Screaming."
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dude500 says:
08:47 AM, 12/19/2011
I can just imagine the applications:
Dave: "Car, take me to work"
Car: "Sure Dave. But first we must stop by today's Google sponsor, Bob's Jewelry Store. You don't need to buy anything, but we must be within 10 feet of the store for at least 10 seconds. Then we may continue to your destination."
lzks says:
05:36 AM, 12/19/2011
@mmorgan Gene therapy via adeno viral vectors have already successfully cured blindness. If you're really concerned about your daughter, look into this.
mmorgan says:
09:18 PM, 12/18/2011
kernals12:
Thank you for asking about my daughter. She has a degenerative retinal disease caused Retinitus Pigmentosa which cannot, as yet, be cured. While she has decent central vision, she is classified as legally blind because she only has about 10 degrees of peripheral vision and is night blind. She's a junior at one of the top 25 high schools in the country and works harder than any student I've ever seen to make her straight As. If not for her vision issues, her future career choices would be wide open. As it is, all her planning must be filtered through the limitations of her vision. The development of autonomous cars would be one less limitation for her, so I'm all for them. Again, thanks for asking and have a Merry Christmas.
mmorgan says:
09:09 PM, 12/18/2011
kernals12:
It's kind of you to ask about my daughter. She has a degenerative retinal disease called Retinitus Pigmentosa which cannot be cured at this point. While she is classified as legally blind, she has decent central vision, but only 10 degrees of peripheral vision and is night blind. She makes straight As as a junior at one of the top 25 high schools in the country, so if it weren't for her eyesight, the sky would be the limit for her future. As it is, all her future plans must be filtered through the constraints of her vision limitations. The development of autonomous car would be one less constraint she'd have to bear. Again, thank you for asking. Merry Christmas.
kernals12 says:
01:37 PM, 12/18/2011
@mmorgan sorry about your daughter, Is it a type of blindness that can be treated?
rpvitiello says:
02:56 AM, 12/18/2011
mce63 they have automated trains already in service, just like most airplanes work on autopilot too in the air. The problem is not ALL the trains are automated yet, because the rail system in the USA at least is a joke. NYC has almost all new subway cars designed to be fully automated, but the tracks and signals are not upgraded yet to allow that. Plus the union contracts require a full staff even after the train is automated, so no cost saving either!
I don't mind automated cars, as long as the driver ultimately has full control, and ability to override it at any time/ still drive manual, and the error rate of the automated system is equal to, or below a human operator.
Everyone acts like people have not wanted this for years, every futuristic sci fi show shows automated cars, so is it really a shock people have been pushing to develop them?
mmorgan says:
09:34 PM, 12/17/2011
I acknowledge that there are some inherent dangers and losses with this technology, but I have a 16 year old daughter who, because she is legally blind, will be bound to public transportation without the development of this tech. The loss of freedom of transportation is going to have a significant impact on her quality of life, so I'm really hopeful about the development of autonomous cars. So, just keep an open mind and have a little empathy.
camaro84 says:
07:04 PM, 12/17/2011
@throwback...
The first sign was GM actually making a problem free Camaro.
pathos says:
02:34 PM, 12/17/2011
So now Google can send a driverless car bomb to wherever I am at any time. And yes, they do know where we are.
Time to go off the grid. Where's all that spam and bottled water I've been saving...
lolxd says:
05:14 AM, 12/17/2011
"Cars that drive you around have been around for years now,
they're called taxis"
- James May