Chris Urmson, director of self-driving cars at Google, said at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit that the company has started talks with most of the world’s top automakers and assembled a team of global suppliers to speed its push to bring self-driving cars to market. These vehicles have been designed from the ground up to drive themselves, Google’s goal is that you press a button and they’ll take you where you need to go. They don’t have a steering wheel, brake pedal or accelerator pedal because they don’t need them; they have software and sensors do all the work.
The suppliers named by Google included Bosch, which supplies power electronics and long-range radar to Google; ZF Lenksysteme, which supplies a new steering gear; LG Electronics, which supplies the batteries; plus Continental and Roush.
Urmson confirmed that Roush, the Michigan-based engineering and specialty manufacturing company, built the podlike two-seater that Google plans to start testing on public roads this year. Crain’s Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News, reported that relationship last May.
Google didn’t ask a large automaker to build this car, Urmson said during a discussion with Automotive News Publisher and Editor Jason Stein, but intends to do so in the future when it seeks to commercialize its technology.
Quote from Chris Urmson, Director, Google Self-Driving Car Project
“It takes a lot of parts to build a car—especially a fully autonomous one. To build our prototype, we worked with experienced automotive partners from around the world, and we couldn’t have come as far as we have without them. As we continue to develop the our first fully self-driving vehicle, we look forward to working with these partners and others to bring this technology into the world safely.”
