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Google currently hires people to drive their streetview cars. They could save a significant amount by automating that collection process. Beyond not having to
by jfager 16y ago
Google currently hires people to drive their streetview cars. They could save a significant amount by automating that collection process. Beyond not having to pay drivers, you also don't have to have vehicles designed to keep their occupants safe, which could be significantly cheaper to produce, operate, and maintain.
And even though it's not a core part of their business today, the first company that can offer a viable automated trucking platform is going to be strongly positioned in a multi-trillion dollar industry.
People criticize Google for being "just an ad company". Branching out with tech like this would put an end to that pretty quickly, wouldn't it?
- dochtman 16y agoSure, as soon as they can make money doing it. AFAIK their income from sources other than AdWords is negligible in comparison to their AdWords income.
- candeira 16y agoIt's the other way around too, at least for the first trips. A human-driven Google Street View car would not only retrieve mapping data, photographs for the Street View and cellphone tower and wifi signatures for positioning; it would also serve to annotate the roads for easier navigation by autonomous vehicles.