Confirming that the Silicon Valley technology company Google was still in talks with other potential partners, the company said very recently that it has no plans to expand its partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV that it has forged to create a self-driving car. This was affirmed by the program chief at the Alphabet Inc unit.
In what is being termed and viewed as the most advanced collaboration to date between Silicon Valley and a traditional carmaker, Google and Fiat Chrysler agreed to work together to build a fleet of 100 self-driving minivans earlier this month. Google said the vehicles that would be developed by the two companies would not be offered for sale and that the IT company was not sharing proprietary self-driving vehicle technology with Fiat Chrysler.
"This is just FCA and Google building 100 cars together," Google self-driving car Chief Executive John Krafcik said in an interview to the media on the sidelines of an energy conference in Washington.
"We're still talking to a lot of different automakers," he added.
"We've been very open about what the technology is and the problem we want to solve together. Solving this problem is going to require a lot of partnership," Krafcik said.
While making suggestions that the alliance with Google could evolve, Fiat Chrysler had announced that what had been agreed with Google was limited. This was said by the company CEO, Sergio Marchionne after the partnership was announced.
Krafcik said on a panel at the conference that Google has logged about 1.5 million miles of test driving and that the company has no timetable for making self-driving vehicles available to the public.
"We have a responsibility to get this out there as soon as we can and really as soon as we have data that says we're better than the current system of flawed human drivers. As soon as we're better we should push the button and go," Krafcik said.
He was referring to 33,000 annual traffic deaths and more than 2.3 million injuries.
Efforts to understand and master the art and technology of complex hardware and artificial intelligence systems required to allow vehicles to pilot themselves has been accelerated by rival technology and auto companies.
Photographs of a Ford Fusion that the ride hailing company Uber Technologies Inc had outfitted with sensors to enable autonomous driving was released by the later company Thursday. Uber said in a blog post that the car is being tested in Pittsburgh.
The acquisition of self-driving car technology startup Cruise Automation was closed earlier this month by General Motors Co.
Otto, Another San Francisco startup company, has said earlier this week it was developing systems for self-driving commercial trucks.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
In what is being termed and viewed as the most advanced collaboration to date between Silicon Valley and a traditional carmaker, Google and Fiat Chrysler agreed to work together to build a fleet of 100 self-driving minivans earlier this month. Google said the vehicles that would be developed by the two companies would not be offered for sale and that the IT company was not sharing proprietary self-driving vehicle technology with Fiat Chrysler.
"This is just FCA and Google building 100 cars together," Google self-driving car Chief Executive John Krafcik said in an interview to the media on the sidelines of an energy conference in Washington.
"We're still talking to a lot of different automakers," he added.
"We've been very open about what the technology is and the problem we want to solve together. Solving this problem is going to require a lot of partnership," Krafcik said.
While making suggestions that the alliance with Google could evolve, Fiat Chrysler had announced that what had been agreed with Google was limited. This was said by the company CEO, Sergio Marchionne after the partnership was announced.
Krafcik said on a panel at the conference that Google has logged about 1.5 million miles of test driving and that the company has no timetable for making self-driving vehicles available to the public.
"We have a responsibility to get this out there as soon as we can and really as soon as we have data that says we're better than the current system of flawed human drivers. As soon as we're better we should push the button and go," Krafcik said.
He was referring to 33,000 annual traffic deaths and more than 2.3 million injuries.
Efforts to understand and master the art and technology of complex hardware and artificial intelligence systems required to allow vehicles to pilot themselves has been accelerated by rival technology and auto companies.
Photographs of a Ford Fusion that the ride hailing company Uber Technologies Inc had outfitted with sensors to enable autonomous driving was released by the later company Thursday. Uber said in a blog post that the car is being tested in Pittsburgh.
The acquisition of self-driving car technology startup Cruise Automation was closed earlier this month by General Motors Co.
Otto, Another San Francisco startup company, has said earlier this week it was developing systems for self-driving commercial trucks.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
