Google’s Self-Driving Car Is Taking On Uber

Google’s work in self-driving cars has been fascinating, but it also seems to always be just on the verge of coming to market. Well, it’s officially on the way, and it might be going after a company it owns a piece in.

Bloomberg is reporting that Google is spinning off its entire self-driving car division to its own company under the Alphabet moniker. The plan is to introduce itself as a private shuttle service of sorts: colleges, retirement homes, private companies with large private campuses and other large compound-like communities with roads will buy a fleet of Googlecars, hail them from an app when needed, and be driven to other points around the campus.

This will dodge the usual problem with self-driving cars–namely that states don’t license them–and give Google more test beds to put the cars on the road and have them deal with everyday hazards. Really, unleashing these things on a campus full of either senior citizens or college students, both equally oblivious to their surroundings, should teach them a lot about not flattening pedestrians in a hurry.

Then, as licensing law catches up and Google can prove their robot cars will not kill us all, you’ll see more Google cars on the road as taxis and public transit. Yes, they are planning on taking on Uber, which is awkward because Google owns a piece of Uber. Then again, Google is committed to keeping us from killing each other on the road, so in the long run, maybe it’s for the best.

(via The Verge)

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