Self-Driving Car Taking Blind Man to Taco Bell Will Make You Cry (VIDEO) Posted by Jacqueline Burt on Mar 30, 2012 at 12:54 PM If you're like me, your first reaction to the concept of a blind man riding in a self-driving car (to Taco Bell) was probably ... bemused alarm, let's say. Like: "Whoa, cool! Hey, wait a minute ... a blind guy going on a taco run in a self-driving car? This can't possibly end well." But that's the thing -- it does end well. Really! Because believe it or not, we actually have the technology to make this kind of thing happen now ... it's just really, really expensive. Which is sad, because I bet there are lots of other white-haired, legally-blind guys like Steven Mahan who could go for a taco right about now. Google's driverless car (a Prius) relies on a laser-range finder, which it uses to map out surroundings and respond to GPS signals. The laser-range finder alone runs about $70K -- that's without the cost of the actual vehicle. Dang. Does it frustrate the daylights out of anyone else that such life-changing technology is available -- but most people can't afford it?
Posted by Jacqueline Burt
If you're like me, your first reaction to the concept of a blind man riding in a self-driving car (toTaco Bell) was probably ... bemused alarm, let's say. Like: "Whoa, cool! Hey, wait a minute ... a blind guy going on a taco run in a self-driving car? This can't possibly end well."
But that's the thing -- it does end well. Really! Because believe it or not, we actually have thetechnology to make this kind of thing happen now ... it's just really, really expensive. Which is sad, because I bet there are lots of other white-haired, legally-blind guys like Steven Mahan who could go for a taco right about now.
Google's driverless car (a Prius) relies on a laser-range finder, which it uses to map out surroundings and respond to GPS signals. The laser-range finder alone runs about $70K -- that's without the cost of the actual vehicle. Dang.
Does it frustrate the daylights out of anyone else that such life-changing technology is available -- but most people can't afford it?
Google has just released video of its self-driving car (possible Transformer?) helping a legally blind man run some errands. It's much less scary than the last nerve-wracking footage of Google's self-driving car, even though it does feature a trip to the humid lair of theDoritos Locos Taco.
Behind the wheel is Steve Mahan, a soft-spoken old man rocking an adorable newsboy cap. The video makes it seem like the Taco Bell run was his idea. Like he doesn't have bigger dreams.
While, at this point, Google's driverless car has clocked over 200,000 test miles without incident, it's still a long way from mainstream use. According to USA Today, vehicle's key feature is a laser-range finder, which it uses to map out surroundings and respond to GPS signals. That piece of equipment alone runs about $70,000.
German auto company Continental AG is much closer to making its semi-autonomous modified VW Passat publicly available. Their car is expected to reach 10,000 test miles within the coming weeks, making it eligible for Nevada roadways. (Nevada became the first state to approve the operation of self-driving vehicles on its roadways last month.)
Unlike Google's Prius, which is fully-autonomous, Continental's Passat requires a driver to take control when passing another vehicle or changing lanes. (Gawker)
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