The small electric cars, which seat two passengers, are currently prototypes that Google has been building through partnerships with automotive suppliers and manufacturers, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said at a conference in Southern California last month.
Google aims to build up to 200 such cars in the near term and hopes the vehicles will be available in various cities within a couple of years, he said.
Google has been testing self-driving cars since 2009, incorporating laser sensors and radars into standard automobiles such as the Prius from Toyota Motor Corp. and sport-utility vehicles from Toyota luxury car division Lexus.
While those vehicles require a human to remain in the driver's seat and take over in certain situations, the new cars operate completely autonomously.
Brin said the cars could operate as a service, picking up passengers when summoned, and potentially even operate as fleets of interconnected "trains."
"Ten seconds after getting in I was doing my email, I had forgotten I was there," Brin said of his experience riding in one of the pod-like vehicles, which resemble a cross between a Smart car and Volkswagen Beetle. "It ultimately reminded me of catching a chairlift."
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
