GoogleSelf-DrivingCarProject

MonthlyReport
May2016

ONTHEROAD

SOUNDSOFTHESELF-DRIVINGCAR

Everyday,wehearachorusofsoundsontheroad:carsaccelerating,musicplaying,cyclistswhirringpast.This
month,weexplorehowweredevelopingthevoiceofaself-drivingcar.

Downwiththetyrannicalhorn:Teachingaself-drivingcartohonk

Inhis1983essay,TheTyrannyoftheHorn,EugeneGarelddescribesthecarhornasaninstrumentof
torturesomethinganyonewhoseversatinatracjamcantellyou.Whenthecarhornwasrst
developed,apredictablethinghappened.Anyusefulnessthatthehornhadwasquicklynegatedbythefact
thatpeopleincitieswereconstantlytootingatoneanother.

Thehumanactofhonkingmaybe(performance)art,butourself-drivingcarsaimtobepolite,considerate,
andonlyhonkwhenitmakesdrivingsaferforeveryone.

GoogleSelf-DrivingCarProject
MonthlyReport
May2016
Ourself-drivingcarsaredesignedtosee360
degreesandnotbedistracted,unlikehuman
drivers,whoarenotalwaysfullyawareoftheir
surroundings.Ourself-drivingsoftwareis
designedtorecognizewhenhonkingmayhelp
alertotherdriverstoourpresencefor
example,whenadriverbeginsswervingintoour
laneorbackingoutofablinddriveway.During
testing,wetaughtourvehiclestodistinguish
betweenpotentiallytrickysituationsandfalse
positives,i.e.thedierencebetweenacarfacing
thewrongwayduringathree-pointturn,andone
thatsabouttodrivedownthewrongsideofthe
road.Atrst,weonlyplayedthehorninsidethe
vehiclesowewouldntconfuseothersontheroad
withawaywardbeep.Eachtimeourcarssound
thehorn,ourtestdriverstakenotewhetherthe
beepwasappropriate,andthisfeedbackhelps
ourengineeringteamreneoursoftwarefurther.

Asourhonkingalgorithmsimproved,wevebegunbroadcastingourcarhorntotheworld.Weveeven
taughtourvehiclestousedierenttypesofhonksdependingonthesituation.Ifanothervehicleisslowly
reversingtowardsus,wemightsoundtwoshort,quieterpipsasafriendlyheadsuptoletthedriverknow
werebehind.However,iftheresasituationthatrequiresmoreurgency,welluseoneloudsustainedhonk.

Ourgoalistoteachourcarstohonklikeapatient,seasoneddriver.Aswebecomemoreexperienced
honkers,wehopeourcarswillalsobeabletopredicthowotherdriversrespondtoabeepindierent
situations.

++++++++++

Thehumofourprototypevehicle

Formanypeoplewholiveinourtestcities,thedesignofourprototypevehiclesmakesthemeasyto
distinguishfromothervehiclesontheroad.Butthosewithakeenearmayalsorecognizethedistinct
soundsofourself-drivingprototype.

Becauseourprototypeisanelectricvehicle,ourenginedoesnotpurrorrevlikecombustionengines.But
quietisntalwaysagoodthing.Pedestriansandcyclistsoftenrelyonsoundtoalertthemtoanearbycar,
particularlyiftheyreabouttocrossthestreetorchangelanes.Forpeoplewithvisualimpairments,the
soundofanapproachingvehiclecanbecriticalinformation.

GoogleSelf-DrivingCarProject
MonthlyReport
May2016

Wevedesignedthehumofourvehicletobefamiliarsothatpedestriansandcyclistsaroundknowwhatto
expect.Ourprototypemimicsthesoundcharacteristicsoftraditionalcars,suchasincreasingthepitchwhen
itaccelerates,anddecreasingthepitchwhenitdecelerates.

Butwealsowantedtoinsertalittlepersonalityandcreateauniquevoiceforourself-drivingcar,sowe
lookedtodierentplacesforinspirationfromothervehiclesandmodesoftransporttoconsumer
electronicsproductstoambientartsculptures(weevenpreviouslyexperimentedwiththesoundofan
orca!).Fromtheseexplorations,weveaimedtohaveavoicethatmatchesourface:neighborsoftentellus
ourprototypevehicleslookfriendlyandalittlefuturistic,andwehopewesoundlikeit,too.

TRAFFICCOLLISIONSINVOLVINGAUTONOMOUSFLEET

Giventhetimewerespendingonbusystreets,wellinevitablybeinvolvedincollisions;sometimesitsimpossibleto
overcometherealitiesofspeedanddistance.ThousandsofminorcrasheshappeneverydayontypicalAmerican
streets,94%oftheminvolvinghumanerror,andasmanyas55%ofthemgounreported.(Andwethinkthis
numberislow;formore,seehere.)

(CAregulationsrequireustosubmitCADMVformOL316ReportofTracAccidentInvolvinganAutonomous
Vehicleforallcollisionsinvolvingourcars.ThefollowingsummariesarewhatwesubmittedintheAccident
Detailssectionofthatform.)

May4,2016:AGoogleself-drivingprototypevehicleinmanualmodeandproceedingwestonLathamSt.in
MountainViewstruckamedianwhiletravellingat9mphneartheintersectionofChiquitaAve.Therewere
noothervehiclesinvolvedandnotracinthevicinity.Therewerenoinjuries.TheGoogleAVsustained
minordamage.

WHATWEVEBEENREADING

FinancialTimes:Driverlesscars:Whenrobotsruletheworld[Video](May2016)
NewYorkTimes:Itsnoaccident:Advocateswanttospeakofcarcrashesinstead(May2016)
AutomotiveNews:SiliconValleyandDetroit:Thebestoffrenemies(May2016)
OutsideMagazine:WanttoKeepRoadiesSafe?GetGoogleonIt.(May2016)