In situations of urgency, one loud sustained honk. So if a vehicle is backing up slowly, Google’s auto might decide that a gentle little beep-beep will suffice. While a Horn is generally used to express irritation, Google says that its horn will be polite and used in a positive way and for safety purposes.
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Next time you’re jammed in gridlock and somebody starts off a chorus of aggravating honks, it mightn’t be a frustrated human driver leaning on the horn. Further, Google has not just taught the cars an art of honking, but it has also featured different honks and beeps for different circumstances. Pedestrians, cyclists and the visually impaired rely on those sounds, the report said, and the cars have previously been too quiet. The new software update was made after several testing from engineers of Google X, a department that looks after Google’s other projects, including autonomous driving.
As such, Google is working on teaching its autonomous cars when it is appropriate to use the horn. A training that now includes teaching the driverless motors when and where to honk their horns while trundling out and about in traffic.
The company is only just beginning to roll out this feature after testing the horn inside the auto itself; engineers didn’t want the vehicle to blast away at other people unnecessarily or by mistake.
Google is also employing a new humming sound for its electric vehicles, which are quieter than traditional combustion vehicles.
Google says the vehicle horn – ubiquitous in United States traffic jams – will be activated only when its cars need to alert others to its presence, such as when they are backing out of a driveway or swerving into a lane, rather than to scold rude drivers.
The same day, Google announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler in Detroit to have the carmaker build 100 Pacifica mini-vans to specifications that will accommodate Google’s array of autonomous vehicle tech, such as radar, laser and cameras.
A prototype vehicle, in manual mode, struck the median traveling 9 miles per hour near an intersection.
Up until now, Google has implemented the AI software in 24 Lexus SUVs and 34 prototype vehicles.
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“Thousands of minor crashes happen every day on typical American streets, 94% of them involving human error, and as many as 55% of them go unreported”.
