The Documents From Google's First DMV Test In Nevada

An anonymous reader writes "IEEE Spectrum contributor Mark Harris obtained a copy of the DMV test Google's autonomous car passed in Nevada in 2012 and associated documents. What has not been revealed until now, is that Google chose the test route; that it set limits on the road and weather conditions that the vehicle could encounter; and that its engineers had to take control of the car twice during the drive.

Comments

Re:Who would have thought

[i kan reed]

Yeah, and it went into manual controlled mode when it recognized obstacles it couldn't handle:

A. A railroad crossing without signals
B. A roundabout
C. Construction work
D. "Some specific turns"

Obviously not ready for the real world yet.

In Google's Defense...

[sandytaru]

From TFA: 'In communication with the Nevada DMV before the test, Google said its policy was to prohibit autonomous operation at railroad crossings that lack signals and for human drivers to take over. It also noted: “[Roundabouts are] particularly challenging, where many drivers don’t know the proper rules in the first place.” In an e-mail to colleagues at the DMV, Breslow wrote, “We can’t fail an applicant for not being able to navigate a traffic circle if they say that there [sic] vehicle can’t yet do it.” '

So the two times that the Google engineer took over were for the two things that Google said they felt it was unsafe for the car to handle - a railroad track without a signal, and a roundabout.