TURNS OUT THE CARS OF THE
FUTURE.. ARE RIGHT HERE IN THE
PRESENT. AND: THEY ARE IN
OUR BACKYARD.
NIGHTBEAT'S BETTY YU IS LIVE FOR
US IN MOUNTAIN VIEW.. WHERE
GOOGLE IS TESTING OUT ITS LATEST
BATCH OF SELF- DRIVING CARS.
BETTY:
Ultimately goal is to take these
cars mainstream ...
These cartoon-like cars were the
stuff of dreams years ago. Now,
they're a reality on Mountain
View's suburban streets. SOT:
Peleg Bar / Mountain View "The
cars look really, really cute.
It actually looks like they came
out of a computer game or out of
space." Peleg Bar has been
sharing the road with Google's
self-driving Lexus' for years.
SOT: Peleg Bar "I feel safe when
I drive next to him." The new
models are designed to
ultimately work without a
steering wheel or pedals. The
black bubble on top has scanners
that can map everything around
it in 360 degrees. For now, the
2-seater prototypes have humans
inside in case of an emergency.
SOT: Bernhard Gass / Mountain
View "I trust technology more
than people. there's so many bad
drivers in the Bay Area." The
goal of this latest phase is to
help the company get a better
idea of how well its technology
works with other cars on the
road. Google is also asking its
neighbors to submit feedback on
the cars on its website
dedicated to the self-driving
car. Longtime resident John
Schultz is already giving them
the green light. SOT: John
Schultz / Mountain View "I
think they've been designed in
such a fashion as to not be
aggressive" "I think it's also a
great advantage for people who
are disabled, blind, who would
be able to use it, or elderly...
I think it's the future."
MELTDOWN AT MACY'S. NIGHTBEAT'S
DEVIN FEHELY TELLS US:
TONIGHT, A
