Google Wants Robot Cars On the Road By 2020

Google is hoping to have its self-driving cars for sale by 2020, according to reports. 

Chris Urmson, the project's chief, said that only Google's self-driving cars can "fully address safety concerns," according to the the Re/Code. Urmson was speaking Tuesday at the TED conference in Vancouver, saying he also wanted the cars ready before his 11-year-old son gets his license.

The cars have custom maps to guide them around their environment and no longer have a steering wheel for drivers to take the wheel in an emergency. From the report:

The company is currently logging three million miles in simulators every day, in addition to its real-world driving tests. Urmson showed how the vehicle can handle complex occurrences like traffic zone lane closures, a bike running a red light and even a woman in a motorized wheelchair chasing ducks.

While some states are already allowing  the self-driving cars to be tested on public streets, it may still take several years for state and federal regulators to approve the vehicles. That means seeing them for sale by 2020 seems a bit optimistic, especially when the tested vehicles aren't even freeway legal.

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