Google shows off driverless car prototype with no steering wheel, accelerator pedal or brake pedal

New Delhi: Google is famously working on fully autonomous cars and it is showing off, bit by bit, what its future driverless cars would look like and work. The Internet giant, that is now exploring many other businesses as well, has unveiled an early prototype that gives a glimplse into what the furure could be like.

According to Google, its driverless cars won't have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal because "they don't need them."

"Our software and sensors do all the work. The vehicles will be very basic-we want to learn from them and adapt them as quickly as possible-but they will take you where you want to go at the push of a button," Chris Urmson, director of Google's Self-Driving Car Project said in a post on Google's official blog.

The cars will have sensors that remove blind spots and they can detect objects out to a distance of more than two football fields in all directions. Google has capped the speed of these first vehicles at 40kmph (25mph). The two-seater vehicles will have only basic comforts: a space for passengers' belongings, buttons to start and stop, and a screen that shows the route.

Google is planning to build about a hundred prototype vehicles but early versions of these vehicles will have manual controls.

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 to take over in certain situations, the new cars operate completely autonomously.

The front of the cars contain about 2 feet (61 cm) of foam and the windshield is made out of plastic instead of glass to make the cars safer.

A handful of US states, including California and Nevada, have passed legislation to allow testing of self-driving cars on public roads. Brin said he was optimistic that the new, passenger-only self-driving cars would be approved for testing in the US and overseas in the future.

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